Taking into account the future of their printing business, print shops can no longer rely on the traditional walk-in customers and referrals they were once accustomed to. Today, they are competing in a digital-first marketplace, with their website as the sales powerhouse that has become. Offset printing, digital printing, custom merchandise, packaging, and corporate branding all play in the print industry, and can use this digital presence for their commercial successes.
As any print shop develops their website, a significant decision often presents itself.
Should they go for a full e-commerce website or aim for a lead-based website. Coming running over into the e-commerce scene because it sounds impressive isn’t always the right strategy and neither is sticking to a lead-based website without realising its limitations.
Well-known issues and challenges exist when weighing the advantages of e-commerce and lead-based websites. For instance, the difference in costs, investment is required for an e-commerce website whereas leads are essentially free. The sort of products you offer, your pricing, the people you are targeting, your capacity to fulfill orders and where you see your company going in five years will all play a part in your decision. In this blog, we will dissect the difference between e-commerce websites and lead-based websites for print shops, and give you the pros and cons to enable you to decide which strategy is best for your printing company.
Understanding the Nature of Printing Businesses
It’s necessary to understand the complexities of the printing business, when comparing different types of websites for printing services. Unlike retail products, printing services are not fixed and pricing is influenced by multiple factors, such as the type of paper used, the size, color, finishing, quantity, urgency and the extent of the customization.
Two customers who order the same product, like visiting cards or brochures, can require completely different specifications, rendering standardisation and pre-programmed menus somewhat useless.
The consultative buying journey that print customers require, and is also defined by the expectation of free samples, guidance, tips, ideas, and even haggling. This aspect of the print buying process plays a major role in determining the feasibility of using an e-commerce website or a lead-based site.
What Is an E-commerce Website for Print Shops?
When it comes to e-commerce, an online store for a print shop is essentially a platform where customers can browse products, personalize specifications, upload their own designs, see the price of their order, complete the payment online and submit their order, all of which happens without having to interact with the sales team, much like when buying from Amazon or Flipkart.
The product range of an e-commerce website for a print shop, typically includes items such as business cards, banners, flyers, T-shirts, mugs, packaging boxes and labels. Customers can choose the size, quantity, material, and finish for each of these items, and then proceed to check out.
Advantages of an E-commerce Website for Print Shops
When building an e-commerce website for your print business, one of the biggest advantages is the flexibility it gives to your customers. They can place orders 24/7, and you don’t have to be physically available to respond to those orders.
Small businesses and individual customers are usually more into quick ordering rather than endless back-and-forth discussions, and this is something that an e-commerce website delivers very well, especially for standardized print products that have fixed pricing.
The power of automation is another benefit you get out of e-commerce websites, in particular orders, payments, invoices and the like can all feed directly into your system, taking out the need for tedious manual work. This allows print shops to really kick up their production volume without adding to their workforce.
Coming across as professional and scalable, an e-commerce website also gives off the impression of being modern and tech-enabled, which is something that retail customers, start-ups and on-line-first brands are very much aware of and take into account when making their buying decisions.
Challenges of E-commerce Websites for Print Shops
As for the printing industry, the convenience of e-commerce is not always practical.
Pricing is the biggest challenge, coming hurrying between under and over pricing, basically because it’s so difficult to sort out all the different combinations of paper, size, quantity and finish.
Well-known issues with customisation are also a problem, because lots of customers want something that isn’t easy to manage through automated forms, and when they feel restricted, they either give up on the process or contact the company anyway, which kinda defeats the purpose of having an e-commerce site.
When it comes to operational headaches, online transactions can bring with them problems with refunds, failed uploads, and orders that need to be urgently changed, and if a printing company doesn’t have the necessary back-end systems and support in place, e-commerce can cause a lot of problems, much more than it solves.
Coming from a marketing perspective, e-commerce websites often seem to be more interested in churning out massive volumes of orders than in valuing the individual customer, leading to price-sensitive clients and razor-thin profit margins, especially in a competitive market.
What Is a Lead-Based Website for Print Shops?
A lead-based website is the way to go, when you’re looking to generate leads. Coming heading straight to a payment page won’t work, so this style of website asks visitors to request a quote, book a call, send over their specifications or send a message via WhatsApp.
The objective of a lead-based website isn’t instant payment, it’s all about starting a conversation. This gives your sales team the chance to find out exactly what your customers are after, recommend the right products or services, upsell to higher-value deals and ultimately seal the deal.
Advantages of a Lead-Based Website for Print Shops
When it comes to the world of printing, a lead-based website is essentially an intuitive fit for the custom nature of most print orders. Because it gives you the ability to nail down pricing and production plans precisely, thanks to real-world data instead of educated guesses.
Well-known to attract high-quality leads, when people fill out the inquiry form, they’re usually serious about what they want to order, especially for large-scale jobs, corporate printing, packaging or branding projects, and these leads often generate orders that are way bigger than those standard e-commerce transactions.
Another upside to a lead-based website is building relationships, something that is a lot more common in the printing business, where repeat business is virtually guaranteed. These types of websites enable a long-term commitment to your customers, and are not driven by fleeting transactions.
As far as marketing goes, a lead-based website can be an excellent way to work with SEO, Google Ads and local search. Service-based keywords like “brochure printing company in Ahmedabad” or “custom packaging printing near me” are highly converting for people who fill out the form.
Challenges of Lead-Based Websites for Print Shops
With respect to lead-based websites, the biggest hurdle is responding quickly to inquiries. If potential customers are not provided with a prompt response, they may lose interest and turn to the competition. Coming across as slow or disorganized will also squander precious leads, and lead to a failed conversion process.
The sales team employed on these websites is also in need of training. The conversion of inquiries into orders is entirely dependent on communication, follow-up and haggling, and if these things are not in order, leads can be dropped through the cracks.
Another issue that is a limitation of lead-based websites is the need for immediate pricing and checkout. Small, pressing orders, or people who are looking for quick services may pick the competition if they’re able to do so, which can spell disaster for the business.
E-commerce vs Lead-Based Website: Which One Is Better for Print Shops?
When creating an online presence for a print business, the type of website that will be most effective for you depends on the kind of business you run. A high-volume print shop that supplies standardized products to the masses, or a print business that is very much driven by custom work, corporate clients, and premium services. Well-known print shops often use a combination of both e-commerce and lead-based websites, but when it comes to small to medium-sized print shops in India, a lead-based website gives significantly higher returns, fatter profit margins and tighter relationships with their customers.
SEO and Marketing Performance Comparison
In terms of SEO, lead-based printing websites tend to outrank e-commerce sites. Service-based pages for local and commercial terms can rank faster and generate more valuable conversions. An e-commerce site requires product diversity, schema markup, and an impressive backlink profile to outrank others.
In terms of paid advertising, the same is true. Google Ads lead generation campaigns offer more targeting and budgeting control, not to mention qualified leads. With e-commerce ads, you’re competing with more people, and your margins are smaller because you’re trying to compete with everyone on price.
Either way, agencies like VDvibe are here to help you determine what digital presence best suits your printing business goals. We don’t believe in generic templates and non-industry specialized solutions. At VDvibe, we build conversion-optimized lead funnels, SEO-driven service pages, and automation that makes sense for the printing industry.
Cost and Maintenance Considerations
You’re looking at a significantly higher cost, including payment gateways, security measures, logic for pricing, order management systems and the need for regular technical updates, when building and maintaining an e-commerce website. Well-known is that one mistake can result in a loss of revenue.
Coming from the other side, lead-based websites are much simpler, deployable quickly and are simple to refine. With lower costs and rapid improvements that can be based off the performance of the leads, they’re the more practical option for print shops who have limited funds.
How VDvibe Helps Print Shops Choose the Right Website Model
VDvibe gets to know the intricacies of their operations, their target audience and sales processes, and doesn’t try to fit a generic e-commerce template, when helping printing businesses. The agency’s strategy is to see which type of website. Lead-based, e-commerce, or a combination of both, will give the best return on investment for the business in question.
VDvibe’s main focus for printing businesses is a conversion-driven approach, a clean and SEO-friendly design, WhatsApp and CRM integration, and customised marketing plans, and is zeroed in on not just bringing in website traffic, but sending those visitors who are serious about printing services directly to the company’s desk.
Final Verdict
When considering the right website model for a print shop, the use of a lead-based website is highly effective. Its ability to be customised, build client relationships and align itself with the advisory nature of print services sets it apart from an e-commerce website.
Although e-commerce sites may be suitable for certain types of products, they shouldn’t be blindly set up, they should be implemented with a clear strategy.
Well-known printing companies shouldn’t be swayed by trends, instead they should understand their customers’ buying patterns, how their business delivers, and turns leads into sales.
The right roadmap will make any website become the best sales tool it can be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an e-commerce website necessary for a printing business?
For setting up a website for a print shop, not all of them need an e-commerce component. Standardized products with fixed prices are a good fit for e-commerce websites, but custom or bulk printing services, tend to do better with a lead-based website.
Can a print shop use both e-commerce and lead-based models?
Coming from what many print businesses have learned, a hybrid approach is often the way to go, they use e-commerce for simple products and generate leads for the more high-value or custom services.
Which website type is better for SEO in the printing industry?
In relation to SEO, lead-based websites tend to outperform in the realm of local and service-based search.
Are lead-based websites outdated compared to e-commerce?
They are particularly adept at ranking for commercial printing related keywords and convert well, mainly because they are geared to specific service-based businesses.
How does VDvibe help print shops grow online?
VDvibe steps in, building conversion-focused websites, SEO strategies and lead generation campaigns that get you more out of your investment, when it’s time to move your print business online.