printer paperI worked in a post office for many years; most consumers walking into the place were looking to pick up a package or buy 10 stamps. We were, however, fortunate enough to serve a number of commercial clients in the area, and they were my favorites; the “regulars”, as it were. One client in particular came in several times a week to mail out magazines in a variety of sizes; by the end of our relationship, I’d memorized each size of each type of magazine at a glance, so the work would go as quickly as possible.

 

Building a relationship with everyone who helps your business run is the best way to find success; consider everyone from your print shop to your post office a partner in your business. A relationship with your print shop is especially valuable because they have technical knowledge that you do not, and the more they know about your business, the more advice they can provide you with. Imagine you send a “Season’s Greetings” type mailout every year in December; a print shop that knows about that would have, this year, reminded you of expected postal strikes long before the mail out needed to be done, and would offer to complete it a bit early to give Canada Post enough time to deliver it. A relationship might also help you target your clients more effectively; your print shop might have information about how similar businesses are using printed media to reach clients.

 

Developing a relationship means better, more targeted advice, but it also means more efficient printing. New clients might have to get an estimate or fill out a spec sheet every time, but when you have a monthly mailout with the same specifications, your print shop will be able to anticipate your needs and have everything prepared for when you come in. Any changes you make to the graphics or text can likely be implemented with ease, so long as you’re using the same basic template, and if the print shop doesn’t think it will look good, they’ll tell you!

 

That type of personalized service is the third great reason to develop a longstanding relationship; the more invested you are in your print shop, the more invested they’ll be in you. Think about the work you’d put in for a stranger versus the work you’d put in for a friend; for someone you know more intimately, you’ll feel more at ease giving them advice or suggesting changes to the overall plan. By developing a relationship with your print shop, they’ll learn about your specific needs, and be able to tailor recommendations to your tastes.

 

At Print Pro, we want to create a long lasting relationship with you; one that will create a synchronous blend between your design expertise and our printing services in Winnipeg. We’ll help you navigate your market with the best printing techniques, stock and ink available; we’ll also help you match price point to quality, so you won’t be paying for superfluous extras that don’t add impact to your printed materials. To do all this best, we need to know you, so stop by and say hello!