Every business wants to feel that it's unique and quite often this is just not the case. There are two prominent kinds of business in the printing industry. There are those who fall within the confines of attracting purely online business, keeping costs to a minimum with completely automated systems and small numbers of staff with (more often than not), inflexible print options. The second will target offline custom, relying on word of mouth, good footfall, high levels of service and fast turnaround times for new and returning business. The levels of service in these offline businesses means that they often have a loyal database of returning local custom.
What makes The Business Card Store unique?
We offer a combination of online and offline printing. We are happy to take on any bespoke jobs, talk through jobs over the phone and search for the best option to suit your needs or you can order through our website and take advantage of our low prices and guaranteed lead-times.
Online Printing Advantages
1. Online printing services are generally much cheaper. They have less brick-and-mortar space and staff to maintain.
2. The hours are flexible. Online printers don’t have regular hours, so you can order your new business cards anytime. It can be during the week after you’ve put the kids to bed or on Sunday morning before you go out to play golf.
3. You can order business cards without leaving your home or office. If you have a busy day ahead with no time for a trip to the local print shop, you can turn on your computer, design a business card, and order your new business cards online. You need an Internet connection and that’s it.
4. Online printers have faster turnarounds. In couple of days, you can have your new business cards delivered to your home.
5. You control every step of the process, from design to shipping times.
6. Since the most popular online printing companies are much larger than many local printers, they have modern machines and therefore more alternatives to choose from―colors, dimensions and shapes, paper stocks, types of ink, etc.
7. Offline printers have their advantages, too. Let’s review some of them.
Offline Printing Advantages
1. You talk to a real person. The difference is similar to ordering books from Amazon versus going to a bookshop. Maybe you are going to buy the same books, but the buying experience is completely different.
2. You get free advice. In your local print shop you can have a conversation with a customer representative. You can tell that person about your needs and your target market and they will help you with the concept and the message your business card must deliver.
3. A local printer will be able to print a sample of your business cards before you order hundreds of them. This allows you to check the quality of the final product before ordering a whole pack.
4. You would like to support your local community. Did you know that millions of small businesses in the UK account for more than half of the sales in the entire country? If you don’t own a national or multinational corporation, supporting your local community in the long term means supporting your small business.