Reorders from a print customer should take one phone call

2 days ago
3 min read

Introduction

A repeat order is the best work in a print shop. The artwork is approved, the stock is known, the setup has been paid for once already, and there is no quoting, no proofing cycle and no chasing of files. Compared with winning a new customer it costs almost nothing. The margin on a reorder is the best in the shop.

Yet reorders are frequently lost for administrative reasons. The customer could not remember what stock they used, the file has been archived somewhere nobody can find, the person who placed the last order has left, or they simply ran out and needed it faster than a quote could be produced.

Every one of those is a records problem, and records are within your control. Fixing them costs an afternoon once.

1. Reorders from a print customer depend on your own records

The file is the asset.

Keep every job with its full specification

Stock, weight, finish, quantity, colours, cutter, date, price. Eight fields, filled in once. Retrievable by customer name rather than by job number. Customers never know the job number.

Keep the artwork accessible, not archived

If retrieving a file takes an afternoon, the reorder becomes a project rather than a phone call. Keep live customers out of deep archive.

2. Make reordering a single step

Remove every reason to shop around.

Quote from the record immediately

Same spec, same price basis, delivered by a stated date. No proofing cycle needed. A customer who has to explain the job again may as well ask three printers. Answer within the hour.

Take the order by phone, message or email

Whatever suits them. Requiring a portal login loses orders. Meet them where they already are.

3. Anticipate the reorder rather than waiting

Most print recurs on a rhythm.

Note the usage cycle

Menus each season, brochures before an event, stationery every few months. Most customers do not track it themselves. Record when the last order was placed and how long it lasted. That interval is your reminder schedule.

Contact before they run out

A short message asking whether they need more. Being early is the whole advantage a local printer has. A week before is better than the day after.

4. Protect against the contact leaving

This is a common and avoidable loss.

Hold more than one name

The person who ordered and somebody else in the business. Note both on the account. When one leaves, the account survives. Ask for a second contact at the first order.

Send the record to the customer as well

A specification sheet they keep means a new person can reorder without knowing anything. Send it with every delivery.

5. Make small reorders worth doing

Short runs are where printers lose money.

Price short runs to be viable

They will happen anyway. Customers remember who made it awkward. Better to price them properly than to resent them. A minimum charge is honest.

Suggest a sensible quantity

Showing the unit cost at three quantities frequently produces a larger, more efficient order. Offer it without being asked.

Conclusion

A reorder is the most profitable work in the shop — approved artwork, known stock, setup already paid for — and it is usually lost for administrative reasons rather than commercial ones.

Keep every job with its full specification retrievable by customer name, and keep artwork accessible rather than archived, because a file that takes an afternoon to find turns a phone call into a project. Quote from the record immediately and take the order by whatever channel suits the customer. Note the usage cycle and contact people before they run out, since being early is the local printer's whole advantage. Hold more than one contact name and give the customer their own specification sheet, then price short runs to be genuinely worth doing.