How to Use Print Marketing to Help Your Small Business Thrive
As the online world grows, businesses are reaching more customers through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, or their own websites. However, creating high-quality physical experiences for your customers is one way to stand out.
Below we go through the importance of print marketing for small businesses. We walk through eight actionable ways to market your business with print materials, including the use of embossers, seals, and stamps.
Why Print Marketing is Essential for Every Small Business
While having an online presence is important, cultivating a strong brand requires more than digital marketing — no matter what type of business you manage.
Businesses can generally be categorized into two types - e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores. Most businesses, however, embrace a combination of the two. For example, you may have both an online and physical store, or you may have an online platform but also regularly take part in events or craft fairs.
Either way, businesses have begun to utilize and rely on digital experiences more and more for marketing purposes. Resources are more accessible. You can reach more potential customers. As a result, small businesses will need to exercise tactics to set themselves apart.
While a digital presence is important, cultivating tangible interactions with your brand is memorable for all customers. One such way to engage with your customers in this way is through print marketing.
8 Small Business Print Marketing Ideas
Below we take you through eight ways that you can use print marketing (with stamps) to enhance your business. We focus on ways that stamps can be utilized to market your business, increase loyalty, and maximize brand recognition in a cost-effective way.
Clothing & Fabric Materials
Are you thinking about designing shirts for your business? Looking to sell tote bags for your store? Want to sell a fabric pin? Grab your logo (or your favorite icon), upload it to our stamp designer, and create your own fabric stamp.
Fabric stamps are a cost-effective way to create large quantities of items that convey your brand. You can easily leave your mark on clothing, bags, and more. Best part? You'll get free advertising as your customers wear it throughout their daily life.
Care Instructions
Rather than printing out the "how to" instructions for your product, consider creating a customized stamp. Stamped words create an authentic, unique, and artistic touch that your customers will appreciate.
If your product does not traditionally come with care instructions, consider adding a little thank you note or sharing a relevant quote.
Certificates of Authenticity
If you sell original artwork, hand-made items, or collectibles, a certificate of authenticity adds a professional touch and, in some cases, is required by buyers. Creating a sleek, attractive certificate is one way to increase your authority in the space.
Embossers are a great way to create a certificate of authenticity. An embosser creates a raised impression on paper. You even can enhance the look with foil or liquid.
Stationery & Mail
Whether you’re sending invoices, thank-you letters, or reports, a customized stamp will expedite the process and increase brand recognition.
Stamps come in handy for various routine components of stationery and letter-sending. From unique letterheads to address stamps, stamps help you leave your personal mark.
To sign off your letters or documents, you can design a signature stamp to increase consistency and save valuable time. Or you can seal your letters with a personalized embosser, creating a beautiful finish to your envelopes.
Packaging
You can use your packaging to increase brand recognition in many ways. We already discussed address stamps. Another way to increase brand recognition is through logo stamps. Consider stamping food labels, wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, and gift bags, rather than ordering bulk custom materials that cost a lot.
From a simple “Thank You” in your brand's font to your exact logo, there are several ways to leave a unique mark on packaging. This includes boxes, to-go bags, wrapping tissue paper, shipping crates, and more.
Social Handle Cards
Encourage passersby at events and customers who purchase your goods to follow you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with a stamped card that includes your social media handles.
Opting to stamp rather than print cards provides a timeless look that customers and potential future patrons won’t forget. Additionally, you’ll always be able to make more on-hand if you happen to run out.
Custom Art
Whether you have a physical location or not, you can create art to be hung or sold that reflects your brand and story. If you sell craft beer, consider creating a poster with the different types of beer and using stamps as the labels for each. Beer lovers can purchase these to frame and hang, or you can hang them up at your own brewery.
If you operate a cafe, you can create wall art, incorporating your logo with a customized seal or rubber stamp.
If you run an e-commerce store, consider including an artsy stamp print of your product, which customers can use to decorate. For example, if you sell jewelry, you can make a standard postcard size print of a hand displaying a bracelet with a stamped quote or tagline.
Signage
Create labels that adhere to your products. You can also create a sign to display your wifi password or to label different areas of your store, eatery, or cafe, rather than ordering expensive signs. Common phrases may be “self-serve coffee” or “place dishes here”.
You can even make hand-made table numbers. Or design price tags with a custom stamp that includes your logo and shop name, as well as a blank space to write in the price.
With plenty of opportunities to get creative, your small business can save on expensive print costs and be well on its way to fostering more memorable, tangible experiences.
By surrounding your products with images that express your brand, you’ll be able to increase customer loyalty and brand recognition — setting your business apart from the rest.
How to Stamp on a Cardboard Box