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Differences and similarities between web-to-print system and marketing portal
Anyone who is faced with the challenge of looking for a suitable system or software support for marketing management with sales and sales partners quickly realizes that there is a variety of software on this market that starts at different points in the process. It is important to know your own needs and the situation and to find the right solution based on these. Questions such as which channels should be used in marketing, how many different users should use the program or which interfaces should be available decisive when choosing software support.
The Challenges of Decentralized Marketing
Software Support helps to centrally manage local marketing, especially in decentralized marketing. This is intended to ensure that a uniform brand image is created and disseminated despite various local sales partners and branches. Nevertheless, partners should be able to address their specific target group and advertise in a targeted manner. However, since the individual sales partners have different levels of marketing and design know-how, but the advertising material should still comply with the corporate design and campaign plan, a software solution helps to deliver CI-compliant templates to the partners. At this 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 material. Here, local partners can be provided with customizable templates for flyers, brochures, posters, printed advertisements, etc. In addition, many web-to-print programs offer the option of sending files, forwarding the print files directly to the printer and managing the order and calculating costs. When choosing advertising media, on the other hand, these systems always stick to classic print products that are produced by connected printing companies.
Marketing portal
A marketing portal, on the other hand, does not only focus on printed advertising material. In these systems, digital advertising materials, social media ads and other items such as promotional gifts or business and exhibition equipment can also be individualized and ordered directly. However, the classic functions that the web-to-print system provides are also available here and are supplemented by the ability to communicate with headquarters and other partners as well as various planning and budgeting functions. In addition, a brand center can be stored in a marketing portal, where partners can find out about all necessary corporate design requirements. By combining them with digital asset management (DAM), marketing portals provide a centralized location for the central control, organization and management of all marketing.
The right choice
Whether you ultimately opt for the all-round marketing portal package or simply use the web-to-print system depends on your own needs and preferred forms of advertising. However, it remains to be borne in mind that, especially today and also with a view to the future, digital advertising media and social media are becoming increasingly important and have become an integral part of almost any marketing field. In order not to have to implement additional software in the future or to avoid a further change, it is advisable to consider a marketing portal even if you focus on print. Systems that are modular and can also 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 in live use. Please feel free to get in touch.