Common Obstacles in Print Reordering and How to Eliminate Them

Summary: Are complicated reordering processes losing time and revenue for your printing business? Well, just by fixing the reordering issues using advanced technologies like web-to-print solutions, you can achieve recurring revenue from your existing customers. Keep reading to learn the challenges in reordering and tactical ways to simplify this process.

One of the greatest capabilities that printers can give customers to win repeat business is a simple reordering process. This capability can not only ensure consistent revenue from a loyal customer base but also a good brand reputation that can win referrals.

Print reordering is a straightforward process. If a print buyer has previously made a purchase from your business, the next purchase from the buyer should be made seamless.

And that’s possible only by utilizing an innovative web-to-print solution for modern print businesses. If the buyer must go through tons of procedures for making the same or similar purchase, then the print business should be ready to lose business from this buyer.

Yes, that’s true! In today’s fast-paced world, where everyone wants the convenience of buying from anywhere and anytime, a customer won’t take much time to turn to a competitor for a better experience.

In this blog, let’s discuss the common challenges in print reordering and how printers can overcome them using advanced technologies like web-to-print solutions.

Top 5 Challenges in Print Reordering and Solutions to Tackle Them

As discussed in the recent podcast, ‘Recurring Revenue Starts with Reordering Simplicity with OnPrintShop,’ Deborah, Naimish Patel, and Trent Foreman broke down the importance of reordering. The experts discussed several reordering challenges faced by print buyers and printers. Let’s look at these challenges and the solutions to overcome them.

Challenge #1: File Loss of Print Design

Let’s say a customer wants to reorder the same print product that was purchased 4 months ago. Since printers use traditional methods for storing customer data, this design file gets lost between email threads or shared drives. Now, the customer will have to redesign and resend the print proof, making it a time-consuming and tedious process. Such situations make the customer lose trust in your business, thus leading them to turn to a competitor that offers a quick resolution.

Solution: By opting for an innovative technology like web-to-print solution, printers can access the history of all orders in a centralized platform. Furthermore, it allows customers to get version control of design files, enabling them to revisit and reorder prints as and when required.

Challenge #2: Manual Steps for Print Operations

Many printers still use manual processes for intaking orders, sending quotes and approving print files. Due to the absence of a systematic process, printers are forced to re-enter details for every reorder. These manual steps cause delays in order acceptance and negatively impacts the turnaround time. Manual operations make the print re-ordering process complex, making customers rethink their decision of buying prints from you again.

Solution: Web-to-print solution offers a one-click reordering option for customers wanting to order products with the same configuration as previously ordered. It has a reorder button that allows customers to eliminate all the unnecessary steps like design creation and proofing, thus enables them to place orders quickly.

Challenge #3: Long Approval Cycles of Designs

It's a known fact that traditional approval workflows is a time-consuming process which requires back and forth communication, multiple emails, and countless spreadsheets. When a customer decides to reorder a print file, they have to repeat the same approval process from the beginning. This process costs the valuable time of both printers and customers, which can otherwise be spent on essential tasks. Furthermore, it can cause delays in order intaking, dissatisfaction of customers, or even loss of business.

Solution: Printer using web-to-print solutions can offer customers with pre-defined design templates that allows them to reorder directly without repeating the approval cycle. In case of any modifications in the design, the web-to-print solution offers transparent approval workflows for seamless collaboration and design proofing.

Challenge#4: Dependency of Specific Staff

Legacy print shops do not have an appropriate system to maintain, track, and retrieve information about old orders. Under such a setup, reorders are often managed by the same customer representative who took the order. If the concerned staff is not available, then the customer will have to wait until that staff becomes available again. This dependency on a specific staff member causes a delay in the print reordering process.

Solution: It offers role-based access for each print job, enabling printers to view all the details of print tasks and assign it to the next immediate available person. This unified approach allows printers to manage print orders, and access order history of customers, enabling printers to keep running the print business and maintain customer satisfaction levels.

Challenge#5: Lack of Omnichannel Experience

Imagine a marketing manager tries to order brochures by sending an email to the printing company. Worried about deadlines, she follows up with a phone call and places the order. Later when she logs into the portal, she cannot find the order, since it was separately handled by the customer support executive. Now, the marketing manager is worried about the order placement and whether the brochure will be delivered on time.

Solution: Irrespective of whichever platform the order has been placed on, a web-to-print solution centralizes the data in a single place and provides an omnichannel experience to customers. So, even if the customer has placed the order using a phone call, walk in, or email, the order will reflect on the portal.

ConclusionEnabling simplified reordering has become a necessity in today’s modern printing ecommerce world. And the ones that succeed in providing that will stay relevant and competitive in the evolving printing industry.With an advanced web-to-print solution like the ones offered by OnPrintShop, reordering can be made a breeze. It offers capabilities like secure file management, automated operations, transparent approval workflows, centralized communication, omnichannel sales management, and more.If you want to learn how OnPrintShop can help you deliver seamless reordering experiences and maximize ROI, then request a demo with OnPrintShop today. So, why wait! Go ahead and take the first step to print business success.