5 Print-on-Demand Marketing Tactics
Marketing is one of the key pillars a print-on-demand online store relies on in the bustling world of e-commerce. With most entrepreneurs following a similar business model, print-on-demand marketing is imperative to differentiate your store from your competitors. Targeted marketing channels and strategies can potentially deliver your unique selling point and print-on-demand products to your target audience.
Implementing a few print-on-demand marketing tactics can be incredibly effective in propelling your business. The goal of the current article is to list five tips you can adjust to improve your store’s performance.
Key takeaways
To power up your current marketing strategy and grow a successful POD store, adapt either of the following tactics to your needs:
- Leverage influencer marketing to reach a larger audience;
- Offer your customers a personalized shopping experience at every stage;
- Share user-generated content to build trust;
- Implement a referral program to grow your customer base;
- Set up a smooth customer onboarding experience.
Marketing strategies vs. tactics
The terms ‘strategies’ and ‘tactics’ are often used interchangeably but have different meanings. When we refer to a marketing strategy, we think of a complex plan of action carefully elaborated to achieve business goals. It involves analyzing marketing trends, assessing customer needs, and setting priorities according to the company’s long-term vision. A marketing tactic, on the other hand, is a single action that focuses on one goal with a typically short-term focus.
A marketing strategy outlines a business’s overall goals and objectives and how they will be met by specific tactics such as paid advertising, promotional campaigns on social media platforms, public relations initiatives, and more.
Now that we understand how strategies differ from tactics, let’s dive into our main marketing tips for successful POD stores.
1. Influencer marketing
In an era where search engines and social media heavily influence a buyer’s decision, influencers can successfully promote your print-on-demand services to gain more visibility and attract new clients. First, the links they share to your page will help your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Secondly, it’s an excellent opportunity to introduce your brand to people who already trust the messenger. The effect is similar to a friend recommending a brand they like and can vouch for.
There is a recent tendency among businesses to cooperate with micro-influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers) and nano-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers). As you can imagine, smaller groups make tight-knit communities where members trust each other, and that makes them more responsive to recommendations and results in excellent conversion rates. On top of that, influencer marketing is more budget-friendly compared to paid ads.
Companies as large as PlayStations reached out to a few nano-influencers willing to share their love for playing video games with their communities. Their posts generated impressive engagement rates on social media platforms.
You, too, can spot a few influencers who can help you spread the word about your print-on-demand service. For instance, an emerging artist can showcase their custom t-shirts and link to you as their go-to print-on-demand seller. Social media ads featuring an influencer and a few online user reviews can drive more traffic to your e-commerce store.
2. Personalized recommendations on your online store
The average person is bombarded with hundreds of emails a day. Consider segmenting your audience and including relevant keywords to increase the relevancy of your content, encourage open email rates, and boost average order value (AOV).
Print-on-demand stores can personalize their offerings via emails and on-site by suggesting the following:
- products often bought together
- recently viewed items and related products
- customers who bought X also liked Y and Z
- best-selling products within a timeframe or a category
- seasonal star products
- best deals (discounted items)
An e-commerce platform can recommend products on the homepage, the product catalog, or product pages. You can leverage offline marketing by sending local businesses personalized product samples such as branded T-shirts.
3. User-generated content for your print-on-demand business
User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful tool to promote your brand identity, increase credibility, build trust, and boost profits. From user reviews to competitions encouraging customers to post related photos and hashtags, UGC can expand your reach and enhance customer experience.
A popular approach is adding UGC to banners or ads, followed by a call to action. For instance, highlighting a few positive reviews can trigger a faster buying decision, especially when you have a button leading to the page where customers can buy the advertised product.
Think of Airbnb. The company is an intermediary between hosts and guests. Theoretically, they are limited in terms of visual content that they can create for their target market. However, Airbnb showcases curated pictures posted by hosts worldwide featuring their tags, thus gathering over 5 million followers on Instagram alone.
A typical print-on-demand e-commerce business often displays the best designs its customers create to illustrate use cases. Their effect is more powerful than branded content companies make, as potential buyers relate more to other consumers than an e-commerce store.
4. Referral programs to bolster your marketing efforts
As consumers, we tend to trust recommendations from people we know, especially close friends and family members. By the same token, acquiring new customers through existing ones makes sense. Encouraging customers to refer others through referral programs can be a highly effective way to expand your customer base. Incentives such as discounts or free products can motivate customers to spread the word about your e-commerce business.
Uber’s referral program rewarded drivers and customers, bringing the business an impressive return on investment (12x).
Print-on-demand businesses can reward customers with discounts, store credit, gift cards, free products, and more. What would motivate your current clients to refer others to your online store?
5. Customer onboarding tailored to your target audience
Onboarding new clients is critical to customer success and improved retention rates. How you help new users create an account, browse your product catalog, place an order, and navigate your website can make the difference between a one-time visitor and a loyal customer.
Canva – one of the best-known design platforms – has a straightforward onboarding process that ensures anyone can use their services. Their flow includes tooltips and screenshots demonstrating how to perform basic actions and contributed to the company reaching 75 million users, out of which 5 million have paid subscriptions.
An effective onboarding process may be as simple as three to five screenshots walking the customer through placing their first order or adding their designs to customize products. The better a customer understands how your site works, the more likely they will use it. You can also have a video explaining the process, a chatbot, or a customer support representative aiding new clients with their first steps.
Bonus tips for print-on-demand marketing
Identifying the right business model for your POD store is essential to companies selling custom products. Once you have it Below are a few additional tips to help you boost sales, make your brand voice heard, and ensure you are effectively targeting high-potential customers:
- Leverage ad campaigns. Ads on Google, Facebook, and Instagram can significantly expand your reach, increase your brand visibility, and attract more potential users to your store.
- Share your unique selling proposition. Ensure your customers know what your business stands for and your advantages compared to the competition. Your brand identity needs to be clear and memorable to your target audience.
- Reward customer loyalty. Providing high-quality products and superior support should be your top priority. On top of that, rewarding customer loyalty will strengthen your bond and bring you more lifelong customers.
- Eliminate bottlenecks. If anything prevents your business from reaching its full potential, audit it to ensure all processes run smoothly.
- Commit to constant improvement. E-commerce changes rapidly, with emerging and dying trends you want to track. So, to stay ahead of the competition, you must review what works best and regularly adapt to major changes.
Summing up
Implementing print-on-demand marketing tactics aligned with your overall strategy can make a dramatic difference to the success of your store. Follow in the footsteps of large businesses such as Airbnb, Uber, and Canva to establish a strong brand identity, drive more sales through influencer marketing, and reduce the learning curve of first-time customers. Make the most out of the power of existing communities through influencers who are excited to promote your products and services to position your print-on-demand store on top of user choices regarding personalized products.
