Making the Business Case for Web-to-Print

Web-to-print (WTP) systems and marketing portals are now a key tool for many organisations, especially those who are working to keep up with the pace of new technologies. Communications now have to move faster and connect to more and more channels. For large, multi-site organisations with distributed teams, WTP can provide a central hub that enables teams to cooperate more efficiently; making processes and workflows more automated.

One of the biggest barriers for implementing web-to-print within an organisation is usually putting across a compelling business case to the people holding the purse strings. After all, decision-makers probably won’t be using the software in their day-to-day work. This instantly makes it harder for them to understand the relevance of WTP for the organisation. Furthermore, the decision-makers may not understand how complex it is creating; distributing and ordering print and digital assets.

Putting together a strong business case to spell out the benefits of WTP can be one of the biggest influencers for the decision makers. Follow these 5 steps to produce a persuasive and compelling business case that will bowl over the decision-makers.

Step 1: Build a Team of Web-To-Print Supporters

Start by identifying all departments within the organisation who will benefit from the use of web-to-print. Bring together several representatives from different departments and discuss how WTP would benefit their team. The more people you have on board from the beginning, the stronger your business case. So these people will be your WTP supporters who will work to push the project forward.

Step 2: Identify the Business Reasons for WTP

If you have thought about implementing WTP in the past, issues may have already been identified that need addressing. With your WTP supporters, list all the challenges the organisation faces and how exactly WTP will address them. If your marketing team spends hours searching for the right versions of the right asset, their skills and time clearly aren’t being well utilised. Furthermore, marketing teams can work much faster when creative files are instantly available and automatically converted for different channels. Each department should identify every area that a WTP platform will make workflows simpler and more efficient.

Step 3: Measure the ROI

Each business case will be different depending on the size of the organisation and the number of people within teams. Considerations should be taken into how much time is spent searching for files, recreating lost files and creating new assets. It’s estimated that on average a marketer or creative will spend up to an hour a day searching for files. This is valuable time that could be spent on the more important business activities that will actually make you money!

If for example there were 5 people in a marketing team and they each spend an hour a day searching for lost files, that equates to 1,225 hours a year if each team member took 3 weeks annual leave. Now if the average salary was £35,000 P/A including holiday, that totals a whopping £16,145.50 a year wasted on just searching for lost files alone.

From the above example you can start to see how much money you could be wasting each year because of poor asset management. Implementing a WTP platform could reduce this figure significantly and in fact, most businesses will see a net profit from WTP within the first year of implementation.

Step 4: Understand the Key Benefits

Efficiency: Web-To-Print software dramatically improves efficiency by keeping all valuable media files accessible in one centralised repository. This means the routine tasks of managing large collections of assets is taken care of.

Save Time: Inefficiencies can cause business to slow down which can be detrimental to time-sensitive projects and deadlines. WTP enables teams to collaborate more effectively and ensure tight deadlines are met.

Ordering print marketing material can also be a very laborious, time-consuming task, especially if there are multiple vendors and suppliers involved. WTP software simplifies the process of ordering so print runs can be started in a matter of hours, not days.

Save Money: One of the biggest expenses relating to the production of assets is the use of a graphic designer. WTP software makes it easier to repurpose files – a better use of your resources than re-creating assets from scratch. Additionally, it provides a secure central repository for all your assets so you won’t waste money repurchasing licensed files.

Branding: You’ve probably spent considerable time and money ensuring your brand is strong and memorable so it is worth protecting. WTP helps ensure your organisation is accurately and consistently represented as only pre-approved templates can be added to the portal. So design elements that shouldn’t be edited are locked down meaning you have tighter controls over your brand assets. Furthermore, depending on permissions, some design elements can be edited using a simple drag-and-drop which removes the need for a designer to artwork simple jobs.

Step 5: Make the Case

Finally, bring your WTP representative together with management to highlight the importance of WTP and demonstrate exactly how the software will make your team more efficient whilst saving money for your company. When you present your business case to the decision-users, be realistic about the ROI and specific goals. A well thought-out strategy and compelling business case will make your overall case clearer and more appealing. With concrete examples and the backing of a team of supporters, you will successfully build a business case that will get the thumbs up from all parties.

Brand Centurion by Burst Digital

Brand Centurion is a powerful, easy-to-use web-to-print portal from Burst Digital. With Brand Centurion, you can store, create and distribute marketing assets without the need of a designer. It’s web-based – so can be accessed from a browser, with no software to install. So all you have to do is upload your approved design templates and brand assets, choose who has admin access to the portal, and then request print runs whenever you want. In addition, all transactions are logged to give you complete control over your budget.

If you are putting together your business case for web-to-print and would like some impartial advice, call today and we can set up a demo so you can experience the full benefits of Brand Centurion.

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