Web-to-print system vs. Marketing portal: differences and similarities

If you are faced with the challenge of a suitable system or software support for marketing management with sales and sales partners*, you will quickly notice that various software can be found on this market that start at different points in the process. It is important to know your own needs and situation and to use them to find the right solution. Questions such as which channels should be used in marketing, how many different users should use the program or which interfaces should be available are decisive when choosing software support.

The challenges in decentralized marketing

Especially in decentralized marketing, software support helps to manage the local marketing centrally. The aim is to guarantee that a uniform brand image is created and disseminated despite various local sales partners* and branches. Nevertheless, the partners* should be able to respond to their specific target group and advertise in a targeted manner. However, since the individual sales partners* have a different level of knowledge of marketing and design know-how, but the advertising media should nevertheless correspond to the corporate design and the campaign plan, a software solution helps to deliver CI-compliant templates to the partners*. At this point, at one point you will ask yourself the question "Web-to-Print" system or "Marketing Portal" - in order to have the necessary information, the two systems are compared in this article.

Web-to-print

When looking for support for decentralized marketing, the classic solution is usually a web-to-print system. This software focuses on the creation and distribution of printed advertising materials. Customizable templates for flyers, brochures, posters, printed advertisements, etc. can be made available to local partners*. In addition, many web-to-print programs offer the option of sending files, forwarding the print files directly to the print shop and managing the order and performing a cost calculation. In contrast, the choice of advertising media in these systems always remains with classic print products that are produced by connected printers.

Marketing portal

In contrast, a marketing portal does not only focus on printed advertising material. In these systems, digital advertising media, social media ads and other items such as corporate gifts or business and trade fair equipment can also be customized and ordered directly. The classic functions provided by the web-to-print system are also available here, however, and are supplemented by the possibility of communicating with headquarters and other partners* as well as various planning and budgeting functions. A brand center can also be stored in a marketing portal, in which the partners* can find out about all the necessary corporate design requirements. Combined with digital asset management (DAM), marketing portals offer a single place for central control, organization and management of the entire marketing.

The right choice

Whether you ultimately opt for the all-round package of the marketing portal or simply use the web-to-print system depends on your own needs and preferred forms of advertising. However, it must be borne in mind that, especially in today's world and also with a view to the future, digital advertising media and social media are becoming increasingly important and almost no marketing field can be imagined without them. In order not to have to implement additional software in the future or to avoid another change, it is also advisable to think about a marketing portal for a print focus. Systems that have a modular structure and that can be expanded in the future according to your own needs are particularly recommended.
Would you like to see a web-to-print system and a marketing portal live? Feel free to contact us.