2026 Is Almost Here... Are You Ready for the New Era of Print Sales?
Cold calls are losing impact, email outreach is being ignored, and buyers are completing most of their decision-making long before a salesperson is ever involved. In 2026, your marketing isn't just a support function; it's your sales pipeline. The printers who understand this will be the ones who stay competitive and grow.
Every print company must be able to answer three essential questions:
How will customers find us?
How will we engage with them?
How will we differentiate ourselves?
These questions form the foundation of your success. And your website is the first and most influential touchpoint your prospects will encounter. As AI quickly reshapes search behavior, buyers are evaluating vendors long before any human interaction. Your website is where most sales are won and lost.
A strong digital presence relies on consistent, value-driven content. Your audience expects insightful explanations of your services. Publish helpful content on your website, and reinforce it across social media, email, and print outreach. This type of ongoing drip marketing builds credibility before the first conversation even happens.
Authenticity matters more than ever!
Increasingly, customers can sense AI content, and AI platforms and social networks will penalize your reach rates because of it. Use AI to refine and optimize original content, not create it. Original content simply means it was created by a human hand. Who made it doesn't matter if a human originally wrote it.
Consistent execution is where most marketing breaks down. Too many initiatives start strong and fade quickly. Content marketing has a high abandonment rate. Successful marketing requires focus, ownership, and a steady cadence. Not a committee approach, and not an added-on responsibility for a salesperson. Can't do it consistently? Consider outsourcing.
The year ahead offers tremendous opportunities for printers willing to embrace these new realities. Your customers are searching, researching, and forming opinions long before they reach out. Now is the moment to make sure they choose you.
If you'd like support developing or refining a modern, AI search-optimized strategy, I'd be happy to help. Great Reach Communications is not only the best at providing marketing programs to printers, but also the only one to offer a completely managed, multi-channel solution. Reach out to schedule a call!
