Premium Commentary & Analysis
Prepress automation, streamlining your customer service department, and reducing the time between inquiry and jobs getting on press – these are common feature requests for web-to-print systems. They are all about you (the printer) – web-to-print isn’t about you! Web-to-print is for your customers!
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About Jennifer Matt
Jennifer Matt is the managing editor of WhatTheyThink’s Print Software section as well as President of Web2Print Experts, Inc. a technology-independent print software consulting firm helping printers with web-to-print and print MIS solutions.
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Discussion
By Chuck Werninger on May 23, 2018
You’re dead-on here! Customers will go to where they feel best served and that’s typically at a printer who has software for most of their needs and skilled customer service for when they ask for help.
By Corry Casler on May 23, 2018
I’m a spoiled-rotten Amazon shopper. They’ve completely changed the buying experience and service expectation for me, and likely the estimated 90 million paying Amazon Prime subscribers (Statista) in the US too.
As much as we love our print providers, I want instant answers regarding our print orders. I want tracking numbers and everything else you mentioned above right now or at 10:00pm when I’m freaking out because I ordered my business cards late for a tradeshow.
Leaving messages, emailing and waiting for a vendor reply? Nope; it's 2018 and we’re spoiled.
Corry Casler
Executive Sales Director
PressWise
By Dave Hultin on May 25, 2018
Consumers have moved the sales transactions and support conversations from their mouths to their fingers on the keyboards and smart phones. It really wasn't all that long ago the thought of choosing technology over people to finalize a sale would be considered business heresy. Yet here we are! Thanks for the timely thoughts, Jennifer!
There's a Walmart not terribly far from our house. I really dislike going there, but when I'm in a pinch for a carton of milk or a tube of toothpaste, it's the only available option within a short drive. The only thing that makes the trip tolerable to me is that they have self-serve checkout. Get in, get what I need, scan the toothpaste, and get out.
Thankfully there's a local grocery store going up in the next-door neighborhood. That will be a MUCH better option, but I'll probably use the self-serve checkout there, too. :-)
Self-service options are everywhere. Printers can learn a lot from the places at which we do business.