Colin Sinclair McDermott, aka The Online Print Coach, provides his top 10 tips to help you keep hold of your customers.
It’s not bad service that costs most printers business, it’s being invisible when it matters. Clients don’t leave because you messed up. They leave because someone else showed up first.
Below are 10 hard-earned lessons (and fixes) all rooted from real conversations I’ve had with print business owners and their teams in recent months. If you want more repeat work, better clients, and less ghosting, this list is for you.
1. Visibility beats memory every time
You weren’t forgotten because you weren’t good. You were forgotten because you weren’t visible. Clients don’t sit around remembering which printer did a great job last time. They search. They click. They order. That’s why staying front-of-mind is non-negotiable. Email, social, even a quick ‘still here’ message can be enough. If you’re not showing up, you’re leaving the door wide open for someone else.
2. Every quote is a conversation starter
A quote isn’t just a price request. It’s a chance to start a real dialogue. The customer is asking, ‘Can I trust you?’ A one-line price sends them back to Google. A personalised response that shows understanding and adds value? That starts a relationship. Don’t just quote. Connect.
3. Sell the outcome, not the product
Nobody buys print for the sake of print. They’re buying what print does: launches, sells, promotes, and communicates. If your content is all stock weights and finishes, you’re missing the mark. Talk about results. Show what success looks like. Focus on the why, not just the what.
4. Create better bait
Lead magnets should feel irresistible, not ignorable. ‘Download our brochure’ is forgettable. A PDF that says ‘Top 10 Print Ideas Boosting Hospitality Bookings in 2025?’ That’s bait worth biting. Know your audience, speak to their pain points, and make it specific.
5. Stay consistent in the quiet moments
Your best clients might not need you today, but they’ll need you eventually. When that moment comes, they’ll choose the name they’ve seen consistently showing up. Marketing isn’t about shouting. It’s about being useful, often. Trust builds in those quiet, in-between moments.
6. Build content around who you serve
Stop making content for yourself. Your audience doesn’t care about your equipment or company milestones. They care about whether you understand them. Speak to their industry, their problems, and their outcomes. When you align your content to who you serve, it clicks and converts.
7. Progress doesn’t always feel like progress
Some of the best business growth happens in the background. Those months where you’re firefighting, juggling, and laying foundation might not feel exciting, but they matter. Hold the line. Show up. Lay foundations. Long-term progress is made in quiet, relentless consistency.
8. Educate, don’t just execute
Most print buyers aren’t print experts. They don’t always know the right spec, that’s why they’ve come to you. Don’t take their order blindly. Guide them. Suggest. Advise. That’s how you stop being ‘just another print supplier’ and become the one they trust (and come back to).
9. Make it about them, always
Your client isn’t interested in your workflow. They want to know what you’ll help them achieve. Whether it’s filling an event, launching a product, or boosting footfall, lead with their goals. When your message becomes about them, they start listening.
10. Stop being forgettable
It’s brutal, but true: a lot of print businesses are great at what they do but invisible when it counts. Don’t be one of them. Whether it’s improving your quotes, upgrading your lead magnets, or just sending helpful content regularly, the goal is simple. Be the one they remember.
This industry isn’t short on talent; it’s short on visibility, clarity, and consistency. You don’t need to overhaul your business overnight. But you do need to act. Pick two of these fixes and implement them this month.
Because the printers who show up, guide, and connect? They’re the ones clients come back to.
