The Power of Print in a Digital World

Electronic birthday greetings tell you someone cares. Open your mailbox to find a card, and the sentiment reaches another level. It takes more forethought to sign, stamp and send a card. And it makes an impression. 

We all spend a lot of time in the virtual world these days, yet a recent survey tells us people are more likely to do business with a company that projects a professional image through their business cards and marketing materials. Consider the impression you get from a flimsy flier versus a colorful brochure printed on cardstock.

Similarly, companies tend to pay more attention to job candidates with a professional-looking resume. That’s certainly true at FedEx Office. Our company is growing, and when a job candidate presents a quality resume, you can be sure we notice the effort.

We may be living in a digital age, but the printed word is as powerful as ever. This may surprise people who had different expectations back when digital rose to prominence. There was a rush to declare print and analog dead, just as some people expected traditional brick-and-mortar retail to fade away when e-commerce took hold. 

 In reality, the market is settling out in the middle as companies find the best ways to operate in both the digital and physical worlds. Some business needs call for a purely digital play, while others warrant professional printing. We continue to expand FedEx Office’s nationwide digital and physical network so we can give our customers the choice, convenience and control they want.

 Establish Your Identity. Build Credibility.

According to the “Power of Print” survey that published earlier this week, nine in 10 small and medium-sized business managers believe professional printing is important in communicating with customers and drawing in new business. 

From a branding perspective, professional printing helps level the playing field so smaller companies can compete. You may be running a small business out of your home, but when you hand quality marketing materials to a prospect, you look the same as a large corporation working out of a downtown high rise.

While professional printing helps small businesses establish credibility in the marketplace, it also helps businesses of all sizes cultivate their brand. Printed materials are also key to many companies’ internal communications, training and operations.

The digital age prompted companies to replace some of their physical materials with websites, landing pages and other virtual tools. On the extreme end of the spectrum, I’ve seen companies abandon altogether their printed materials in favor of doing everything online. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it backfires, and companies learn the hard way how important it is to put tangible materials into their employees' hands, despite the temptation to go all-digital.

Information is Power, But Only When It’s Handy

A healthcare training binders they provide to nurses, as well as the ones their sales force uses. We didn’t see print orders from these departments for two years.

In 2018, the company experienced pushback from workers who said that without a printed binder in hand, they didn’t have immediate access to the information they needed in order to provide quality patient care. The company returned to us, and we resumed printing physical binders.

In another example, a hotel and resort management company decided to load a digital copy of their employee handbook onto their portal instead of printing it. To ensure compliance, they asked employees to email a confirmation that they read and understood the document.

The management company’s move to a digital handbook created two challenges. First, associates without reliable internet access couldn’t refer to the handbook when they needed information. Second, the digital “acknowledgement” page didn’t always transmit properly, making it difficult for the company to hold employees accountable for complying with its processes and procedures.

To compound the challenges of going digital, the company noticed a lack of comprehension among the employees who received the online document. Within months of going digital, the company decided to return to a printed handbook, which includes a perforated acknowledgement page employees can sign and return to their local HR director.

Of course, there are times when it’s more efficient to communicate and conduct business online. But our recent survey confirms that the communications most important to us – at work and at home – often belong in the physical world. We live in the digital era but our impressions of people, companies and special occasions often start with a piece of paper.

And it matters how that paper is printed.