One way to increase sales at your printing, label, or graphics business is to offer wholesale prices to well-connected print experts who serve as brokers, distributors, and value-added resellers.
If your company is reliable in terms of quality and delivery, brokers and distributors will send a series of orders directly to your web-to-print portal. The brokers will handle the details associated with advising buyers and ensuring that jobs are prepared and submitted properly.
The Role of Brokers Has Evolved
When printing was regarded as one of the primary methods of creating brand awareness, the advisor who sourced different types of print services was called a print broker. This person sold printing services, but didn’t actually own any assets for providing printing services.
Print brokers built relationships with multiple print-service providers and directed business to the company that had the right capabilities.
These print brokers helped big buyers of print save time, trouble, and money by finding qualified printing companies with the exact capabilities needed to execute specific projects, such as catalogs, direct mail, marketing collateral, or promotional products.
But modern “print brokers” do more than sell printed products or services. For example, in addition to finding the right suppliers of printed products, brand marketers may need assistance finding qualified experts in digital marketing, augmented-reality solutions, or experiential activations.
You can learn more about brokers and distributors through Brand Chain. Formerly known as the Print Services and Distribution Association, Brand Chain is a community of independent distributors who recommend brand solutions for their clients. The types of solutions each brand seeks depends on what problems they are currently struggling with.
In a webinar hosted by WhatTheyThink, Managing Editor Richard Romano interviewed Greg Gill and Matt Bruno of Brand Chain about some of the most common challenges brands need help with. They report that brands may ask a distributor for help in:
- Determining when to use print and when to use digital marketing methods
- Getting actionable insights from the mountains of data generated through integrated marketing campaigns
- Measuring the effectiveness of each element in an integrated marketing campaign
- Setting up a dashboard to monitor whether employees at the company’s various sites are downloading specific marketing materials
The Brand Chain community provides supply-chain networking opportunities, education, resources, and tools to enable the long-term success of the individual distributors.
Richard Romano presented some facts and figures that showed how the role of the print broker/distributor has changed.
In 2010, the typical print broker offerings could be grouped in three categories:
- Business Printing Services (labels and tags, binders and index tabs, stationery, custom forms)
- Marketing Support (brochures, flyers, booklets, posters, signs, banners, stickers/decals)
- Promotional Products (imprinted pens, toothbrushes, notebooks, etc.)
In 2022, three major categories of distributors exist:
- Commercial Print Distributors offers brand management items and production solutions such as collaborative proofings, file exchange, and digital asset management.
- Sign and Display Distributors might help source suppliers of retail graphics, indoor/outdoor signage, wall murals, banners, point-of-purchase displays, posters, trade-show displays, window and floor graphics, way-finding signage, or environmental graphics.
- Branded Merchandise Distributors specialize in supplying products for executive gifts, trade-show giveaways, and company events. They can also help set up online storefronts through which sales and marketing employees can order branded merchandise.
Who Works as Distributors?
Many individuals working as print resellers or distributors are experienced, accomplished sales professionals who prefer working as independent contractors instead of being aligned with a single company.
This makes sense because older sales professionals have spent decades building relationships with some of the biggest buyers of printing and related services. They understand that big businesses often prefer working directly with fewer vendors. The brand marketers are happy to source entire programs through distributors who have strong networks of print service providers that can get the project completed correctly on time and within budget.
Call me at 561-543-2323 and I can recommend some of these experienced professionals who can help you grow your business and improve its value in the eyes of potential investors.
RESOURCES
Brand Chain
What They Think Webinar: Expanding Opportunities via Trade Brokering and Distributing
Deal Flow Guy: Five Reasons Experienced Print Sales Pros Are Going Independent