Learning how to scale your printing business

Printing businesses are a hot topic, and many people are trying to get into the industry while it’s still booming.  Unfortunately, this can lead to poor planning and a lack of vision when scaling it into something larger.

If you want to make the most of your company and aren’t afraid to take some large steps to do that: these are the most important ways to scale your business.

Market where your customers are

Don’t just buy ad space on places like Twitter or Instagram and expect it to solve your problems.  Instead, consider where the customers for your business are. For example, because of the artsy and fun feeling of Tiktok, many printing companies have been able to grow massive audiences of people who want to buy everything from stickers to prints.  

Journal and journal-accessory printing companies have fantastic success on Instagram, while Twitter is a mixed bag.  Think about where your customers are, what interests them, and then move forward with advertising from there.

Use designs in multiple ways

Please don’t use a design on one medium and call it a day.  Using everything from sign software to woodblock printing, depending on the call, can be an exciting way to get more money out of the things you’re creating.

It can be stressful to put this much money into new products, but offering the design on more products allows you to find new customers.  Not everyone wants a new poster, but many want new tee-shirts or canvas bags.

Email marketing is your friend

How you market, your company is going to affect how many people buy from you.  Email marketing allows you to update customers the moment there’s anything new available from your company.

This can drive sales, keep you on your customer’s mind, and offer the chance for you to test new products and offer discounts for repeat customers. So gather emails through things like giveaways, offering discounts for their emails, and dozens of other ways. However, avoid gathering emails in ways that will give you a bunch of dead leads since this may end with your account being considered spam.

Offer customization

Many people want items that are unique to them.  Offering customizations gives you the chance to give every customer a unique experience they couldn’t get elsewhere. This could mean putting their name on a product or making unique prints and stickers for them.

Customization allows you to give them a one-of-a-kind product while also getting to charge more because of the work put into it.

Focus on B2B customers

Business to business customers is far more important than regular customers.  B2B relationships give you a chance at far larger orders and more consistent work.

For example, a company can request dozens of posters for their shops or purchase lots of custom business cards, stickers, or other products they need to advertise their company.  This can be fantastic for anyone trying to grow their company since it gives you large orders of similar items so you can make it en masse.