If your company is in healthcare, education, financial services, real estate, retail, or nearly any other industry your organization’s mission is focused on delivering your products and services to your customers. You’re great at that!
Many companies, however, have a side gig. They run an internal print operation that supports the main company strategy, but printing isn’t the organization’s area of expertise. We speak with lots of companies that maintain these internal document operations. Most have existed a long time, are frequently under-funded, rely on the experience of a few select employees, and offer limited capabilities compared to contemporary print operations.
In a common scenario, companies print all their own bills, notices, statements, or other items to send their customers. A part-time staff often performs this work because the bulk of the activity occurs only at specific times, such as the end of the month. With limited budgets, in-house operations may run without fully automated systems. Some portions of the document workflow, like mailpiece integrity, are handled manually. This isn’t an efficient way of doing things, but companies can’t justify the expense of hardware and software upgrades given the low volume of print and mail work they perform.
An often overlooked risk to in-house document operations is a staffing issue. Experts predict 30%-50% of skilled print shop workers will retire within the next ten years. When these subject matter experts leave, companies find it difficult to replace them. Recruiting younger people to work in a print shop, especially one operating with older equipment, is a tough sell. The time to transition to a trusted outsource print and mail provider is now, when seasoned employees can assist with the migration.
Today, technology makes it possible to realize all the benefits of an in-house print operation, but without the drawbacks inherent in that approach. Most successful organizations now see in-house printing as an unnecessary burden that impedes growth and wastes money and resources. They realize the money tied up in the print operation could be better spent in other areas of the business.
That’s where print/mail service providers play a part. By outsourcing the printing and mailing work to an outside vendor, companies reclaim valuable floor space in the production area and warehouse, re-assign staff to higher-value duties, and trim substantial fixed and variable expenses from their balance sheets.
Companies can save money by transferring their printing chores to an outsource service provider, but that’s just part of the benefit they will realize. When companies send their work to an organization whose product is printing and mailing, it opens the door to enhancements and capabilities that few in-house operations can afford. Print/mail service providers spread the cost of investments in the latest techniques and technologies across high print volumes. Their clients get the benefit of new technology without making capital outlays.
Almost all companies are intent on making improvements to the customer experience. They know a customer’s feeling about an organization is one of the most important factors in their decisions about loyalty. After the initial sale, companies generally communicate with customers through printed or electronic documents like bills, notices, statements, or marketing materials. Documents play a huge part in customer perception. Trusting customer relationships to an in-house print operation that hasn’t upgraded their processes much in the last ten years limits the company’s ability to enhance important customer relationships. Advances in printing, multi-channel communications, document integrity, and tracking technologies have developed rapidly over the last decade and experts predict the trends will continue.
Print/mail service providers must keep up on the latest technologies. Because documents are their business, they invest in customer communication methods and use their knowledge to help clients meet their business objectives. A fresh approach combined with contemporary document composition software and modern document production workflows can allow companies to make improvements in the way they communicate with their customers, which encourages customer satisfaction and repeat business.
Document service providers give their clients access to technologies such as multi-channel communications or document redesign. Companies can serve their customers better, take advantage of online interaction opportunities, upsell, or otherwise improve the relationship they have with their customers-just by using the advanced features and capabilities their outsource print partners can supply.
Document service providers may suggest designs or approaches their clients, formerly locked into in-house legacy solutions, never considered. Limited flexibility or lack of technical resources may have been holding them back. Those restraints are erased when working with an outsource print/mail company.
In a recent survey by Toluna, 86% of Americans said they believe in the right to choose how they receive communications. About the same number want the option to revert to paper communications if they’ve switched to digital. Customer communication preference management is a big challenge for many in-house document operations. As a result, they resort to heavy-handed policies such as forcing large blocks of customers to paperless delivery-a dangerous tactic. 45% of survey respondents said they’d consider switching providers if forced to go paperless. People clearly want some control.
Channel preference is especially difficult when customers have multiple relationships with an organization. The classic example is a financial institution that offers checking, savings, and investment accounts. Some customers may want their investment documents on paper and the rest electronically. Certain customers may want the reverse, and still others may want all their documents on paper. Print service providers can offer a great deal more document delivery flexibility than organizations can manage on their own.
Continuing to administer an in-house document operation may no longer be the best solution for your company. Consider how working with a print/mail service provider can help your company concentrate their resources on your core products and services. Let document industry experts handle the details of customer communication for you.
For an overview of all the benefits companies enjoy by outsourcing their document operations to Shelton Connect, download this quick-read infographic.
Upload your raw data securely to Shelton Connect. Whether it’s customer preferences, transactional details, or marketing materials, we ensure your data is in safe hands.
Our advanced platform processes your data and generates the required communications. For print, we ensure top— quality production tailored to your needs.
We address sort, and mail physical communications or deliver them digitally via email, SMS, or web portals—ensuring your customers receive their messages the way prefer.
Your Communications reach your audience promptly and professionally, helping you strengthen customer relationships and achieve your business goals.
