Your business could make more profit without investing in any new equipment. Sounds too good to be true? Perhaps not, if you’re a user of a Roland print and cut device. And if you don’t own a Roland print and cut device yet, this article might help you decide.
Are you getting the most from your Roland printer/cutter?
Roland DG has sold well over 129,000 integrated print and cut systems worldwide. They are our most popular type of wide-format printer, primarily because of their excellent versatility; print and cut is very much the Swiss Army knife of wide-format print production. However, much like that handy pocket toolkit, many people use one tool more than the others. The printing capabilities of these systems are outstanding – the Roland TrueVIS range has picked up several awards for its printing quality – but some users may overlook their other exceptional features. Specifically the ability, in one single machine, to print something and then contour cut it – ideal for the production of stickers, window graphics, heat transfers for apparel, vehicle graphics and much more.
However, with so much versatility, are you exploring its full potential? And, more importantly, are your customers truly making the most of what these super machines can do? If your customers only seem to order posters, banners, pop-ups and roll-ups, and you’re seeing little demand for stickers and heat transfers, perhaps that’s just the way the market is. Or is it? It’s possible that your customers don’t know you can produce such a wide range of products on your Roland system, so simply don’t think to ask.
Expanding your offer
Consider these scenarios to see if you could promote your print and cut services further.
Scenario 1: A customer wants some sticky vinyl signage to promote a new product or service they sell. We win the job, create the artwork with the customer’s logo on it, produce the vinyl sign. The scrap vinyl used during production goes in the bin. We invoice, the customer pays and goes away happy.
Scenario 2: We’ve already got the customer’s logo, so with a few additional mouse clicks we create a smaller version of it, add a contour cutting outline path, and on the blank spaces of the vinyl we use the nesting feature of the Roland VersaWorks software to populate that blank space with miniature decals, sporting his logo and contact info. The same customer receives the sign, but this time you also give him a couple of dozen sticky decals that he can send out to his own customers. You’ve just given him something that might help him to win more business, for free, and his perception of you is now even more positive than before. The cost to you, in real terms, is a few additional minutes of work and some scrap material that might otherwise have gone in the bin. Therefore the cost to you to create this increased customer awareness and satisfaction is zero.
However, introducing additional bespoke work is not always practical, or even possible to fit into a busy working day. Answer? How about some standard one-size-fits-all decal kits? Not bespoke, but an off-the-peg selection that most of your customers would appreciate. An office sign pack, perhaps containing some ‘No Parking’ stickers, a few safety signs, some directional signage, maybe some quirky cartoon-style toilet stickers. Or perhaps some novelty stickers for your customers’ kids.
Scenario 3: You create these various ‘decal kit’ files once during downtime, and when your customer places an order you can just add them to the scrap areas of your printed vinyl sign production, using the Nest feature of your VersaWorks software. You give these kits to your customer, and – as well as receiving goodwill in return – you’ve dramatically increased the probability of hearing this: “Wow, I didn’t know you could do these!”
This is the perfect opportunity to let them know about the variety of other items they don’t know you can offer. Roland printer/cutters are ideal for sports applications, thanks to their ability to print and cut heat transfers for caps and T-shirts, stickers for team kit and banners for events; all kinds of office and corporate products including safety signage, window graphics, promotional gifts and fleet graphics; home items such as fun children’s wall decals, customised canvases and pictures; almost anything you can think of in a retail environment – and many more markets besides. With Roland print and cut, you can offer all kinds of product personalisation.
So what next? It’s over to you
Your customers need to know these products exist if they are going to buy them. By demonstrating your services with real, tangible products, you can raise awareness and create profitable cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. It’s a matter of sowing the seeds and reaping the harvest. Have a think about some of your primary return customers, and about what additional products you could sell to them – if only they were more aware of their availability.
Print and cut offers so many amazing opportunities and you can use this to your advantage. You’ll be glad you did, because making money out of scrap product you would otherwise have put in the bin is as close to sensible business as you ever need to be.
Last but not least, you will exceed the customers’ expectations, making your company their go-to supplier in the future.
Not a Roland print and cut user yet? Thinking of upgrading your current print and cut device? Book your free TrueVIS VG2 or SG2 print and cut demonstration now.
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