Why buy two products separately when you can get them together? That question led to Floss 'N' Cap, a tube of Aquafresh toothpaste with a spool of floss attached. It led to salad kits and cell phones that take photos. It's also the question that drives demand for integrated products in the printing industry.
Customers want products that serve multiple functions, raise the perceived value of their products and services, and differentiate them from competitors. That's why distributors who offer integrated products gain a competitive advantage.
Zero In On Unique Markets
Airlines, casinos, grocery stores, health clubs, hotels, insurance companies, museums, non-profit organizations, trade associations and zoos are businesses that use integrated and affixed products frequently. Finding a niche is a good way to start selling integrated products.
R.J. Stienstra, sales consultant for BRIDGE Printing and Promotional Products Inc., Arlington Heights, Ill., sells integrated products primarily to non-profit organizations and associations, but he also has found a niche selling to commercial printers in the Chicago area. The distributor provides the products to printers, who then sell them to end users. "Ideally, you'd try to deal with the end user, but they already have the relationship there and the trust there," Stienstra says.
Offering integrated products differentiates your business and your customers' at the same time. "Integrated products are great items to show a prospect, because chances are they haven't seen them," says Thomas Hardee, president of distributorship Integrated Business Solutions Inc., Virginia Beach, Va. Relatively few vendors feature integrated products in their portfolios or explain the products' benefits. Even if the prospect doesn't buy an integrated product, distributors can show companies they're comfortable with the technology involved. That may help drive other business your way, Hardee says.
Alan Gorman, president of distributorship GGA Associates Inc., Drexel Hill, Pa., also says integrated products are mutually beneficial. They appeal to his customers because "they look at these products as being unique," he says. "The reason we like them is that they can't just go to any corner print shop and get them." By Gorman's own admission, integrated products aren't "something we're pushing on a regular basis, but we use it as a door opener. And when we see an opportunity, we go for it."
Target: Mortgage Company
A mortgage company recently turned to GGA Associates Inc. for help with designing and implementing a direct mail campaign. When Gorman proposed adding an integrated card to letters that prospects receive from the company, his reasoning was simple: "Your response rates always increase when you get the customers involved." The client agreed, and test mailings will take place during the next few months.
GGA Associates designed a card that can be personalized with a customer's name and a unique identification number. The card also includes the mortgage company's name, contact information and logo. The campaign's interactive nature keeps the mortgage company's name in front of the prospect longer than a letter or brochure that's easily thrown away, Gorman says. "If we want the consumer to hold onto the piece for a while, we'll suggest an integrated product," he says.
GGA Associates also implemented an integrated solution for a motorcycle vendor. The vendor wanted to provide its customers with warranty information, an owner's card and a thank-you note in the mail. The distributorship provided the vendor with three separate products until Gorman designed a single form that included the warranty information on the back of the sheet, an integrated owner's card and an integrated label. When a customer purchases a motorcycle, the new owner is given a card and warranty information to take home, and the label is peeled off and attached to the thank-you note. The store mails the note a week later. Gorman didn't set out to sell an integrated product, but "when we see a need, we present a solution," he says.
Target: Zoo
An integrated product helped BRIDGE land a deal with Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Zoo officials wanted new members to receive their membership cards and a set of coupons for special events simultaneously. Furthermore, they wanted to personalize both the cards and coupons.
Stienstra provided 8 1/2 x 14-inch sheets with two cards integrated at the bottom that featured laminated faces. The rest of the sheet included 14 perfed coupons with pictures of animals on the front and a blank space, in which the details of special events were added with laser printers. The coupons hold different information depending on the season or time period when the new member joins. Static membership and coupon-redemption information is printed on the back of the sheet. So far, BRIDGE has sold 250,000 of the forms to the zoo.
The key to selling integrated products is to act as a consultant, Stienstra says. He recommends asking customers how the products will be used and what will happen to them after they're produced. Also, he says, take the customer's budget into account. Find out what they're looking for and what their budget allows. "There are a lot of different styles of cards," Stienstra says, one to fit nearly every budget.
Target: Tool Vendor
Hardee also knows what it's like to act as consultant. He steered a customer from one integrated solution to a more suitable one.
The client, a tool vendor, holds education classes for its customers. Each student takes a test at the end and receives a letter with his or her grade and a card certifying completion of the course. The certification doubles as a discount card that the students can use to purchase the vendor's tools.
The client wanted to integrate the card into the letter, but Hardee suggested it go a step further and add a magnet strip to the back. The students wouldn't carry around a piece of paper, he argued, but they would place the magnet in their toolboxes. The vendor agreed, and Integrated Business Solutions delivered.
According to Hardee, the outlook for integrated products is good. Their ability to serve multiple functions, and the ease of working with one manufacturer on each project, drives demand. The challenge is getting distributors to overcome their fear and add integrated products to their mixes. "They need to show the product and not be afraid of it," Hardee says.
Andrew Brown is assistant editor of Print Solutions. Email him your comments at abrown@PSDA.org.
Integrated vs. Affixed
The term "integrated products" refers to just about any product that serves multiple functions, says Thomas Hardee, president of distributorship Integrated Business Solutions Inc., Virginia Beach, Va. In practice, though, forms with cards that are part of the original cut sheet are called "integrated," and forms that include tipped-on cards or labels are called "affixed" or "attached" products. Parts of both are left blank, so the customer can personalize them when necessary.
Affixed plastic cards that many credit card companies use in direct mail campaigns have a higher perceived value than integrated cards, but they may cost more to produce and have longer lead times. Integrated products go through the press only once, while each part of an attached product is printed separately. Integrated products also have fewer problems feeding and jamming in laser printers. "You start attaching a card or magnet on top...it's not going to be as laser friendly," Hardee says.
R.J. Stienstra, sales consultant for distributorship BRIDGE Printing and Promotional Products Inc., Arlington Heights, Ill., agrees. "Do test runs," he says. "Make sure you get the model number and the printer number of whoever is personalizing these cards because you may have issues with compatibility."
3 Benefits Clients Can't Resist
1. Multiple functions: Forms that serve multiple functions save clients time and money.
2. Higher perceived value: People who receive integrated and affixed cards attribute a higher value to the client's offering--whether it's a membership, service or product.
3. Differentiation: Integrated products set clients and distributors apart from competition. Few distributors offer integrated products, so few clients have opportunities to use them. When opportunities come along, clients react favorably to them.
![ÒWe use [integrated products] as a door opener.](Images/INTPQ.JPG)
