Why Franchise Owners Should Make the Move to a Web-to-Print Platform

One of the more unique challenges for franchise owners is ensuring franchisees are leveraging consistent, high-quality print sales and marketing communications. Too often, franchise owners are having to address instances of inaccurate branding, out-of-date product information, and a lack of personalization and customization necessary to best engage with localized customers. 

This is where a web-to-print solution can help franchise owners execute more efficient, cost-effective print materials that are targeted, on-brand, and provide a robust return on the investment in print.

Here, we’ll look at the ins and outs of a web-to-print solution — a web-to-print solution like OnSpark, for example — to better understand why franchise owners should make the move to a web-to-print platform now for more consistent, high-quality print in the future.

How does a web-to-print solution work?

A web-to-print solution uses digital print-on-demand (POD) technology to help your franchisees print exact quantities of marketing collateral or direct mail pieces the moment they need them. Not only does this help keep your print costs down by reducing the need to either warehouse or dispose of wasted copies, it also allows your franchisees to print sales or marketing collateral with a greater degree of flexibility. 

A web-to-print solution also helps create more cohesive, on-point branding and a more consistent communication strategy. Using a centralized online storefront, you can upload on-brand, pre-approved templates for a variety of documents, including sell sheets, brochures, or flyers. Then, your franchisee can quickly and easily order print runs of these documents in the precise quantities required for the job. 

Plus, the ability to upload and edit templates, logos, or messaging in real-time streamlines the print process and helps ensure your franchisees are not printing inaccurate or outdated documents. This also helps reduce waste by virtually eliminating the likelihood of printing inaccurate materials.

What are the benefits of a web-to-print solution for franchise owners?

A web-to-print solution has a variety of benefits for franchise owners, some of which are particularly noteworthy as you plan for 2024, particularly as you look for more effective and efficient ways to sync larger, corporate messaging with a more custom angle for local or regional audiences. 

Whether it’s meeting consumer expectations for personalized messaging or taking a more sustainable approach to print, web-to-print can help franchise owners streamline their print communications strategy without sacrificing quality. Some of the ways web-to-print can help franchise owners achieve this include: 

• Decrease waste and reduce unnecessary costs. Yes, the ability to print the exact quantities you need helps reduce printing costs, but printing what you need when you need it helps you make better use of resources like ink and paper, and this can support your sustainability initiatives by reducing your waste. With more consumers prioritizing robust sustainability efforts from the brands they engage with, web-to-print’s use of on-demand print technology helps create a more eco-friendly business model.   
• Leverage the power of personalization and customization. Your franchisees know their market. They know their customers. They know the kind of messaging and value propositions that will resonate with their target audience. Web-to-print makes it possible to customize and personalize templated documents using variable data and images to help your franchisees create custom sales and marketing collateral that still maintains your brand identity and voice. 
• Streamline marketing collateral management. Franchise owners can have anxiety over whether corporate branding guidelines and campaign initiatives are being faithfully and successfully executed at the local level. With a web-to-print online portal, franchise owners can better oversee and manage template versioning. Plus, a web-to-print solution helps empower your franchisees by allowing them to update and print the documents they need without lengthy or complicated approval processes. This also allows your franchisees to quickly seize sales opportunities that may have small windows of time for your franchisees to act. 

Whether your challenge is increasing your marketing channel flexibility, helping your franchisees optimize their print sales and marketing budgets, or simply making it easier for them — and yourself — to create properly branded, custom materials that speak to a more local audience, a web-to-print solution offers the power and versatility to make the most of print.

OnSpark, our web-to-print solution, makes it easy for franchise owners to build a customized online portal that houses your organization’s variable direct mail, sales, and marketing collateral. Plus, OnSpark makes it easy to access your document library from anywhere at any time, and our solution also allows you to track your spending by organization, campaign, or individual user for a more detailed look at the cost-effectiveness of print campaigns. What’s more, OnSpark can also help your franchisees create and print custom, highly-targeted direct mail campaigns using your own address lists, or those you’ve purchased from an integrated list service, also available directly through OnSpark. OnSpark makes it fast and easy for franchisees to upload the list and print personalized direct mail using variable data printing.

Ready to experience all that a web-to-print solution has to offer? Request a demo of OnSpark to get started.