Providing such a service involves  purchasing the complex software to co-ordinate all of the various marketing streams and track responses;  and  acquiring the required new skills, new attitudes and new branding to use that software successfully. Understandably, then, managing campaigns has generally been the preserve of the bigger print operations. This may be about to change.

The traditional costs of getting into cross-media can amount to the annual turnover of a smaller print SME. Software systems start at around £50,000 and reach up to the £250,000 mark, while the salary commanded by a skilled staff member can easily top £40,000 per year and beyond – as for rebranding, that can be more than the rest put together if you are not careful. Hence, the sensible SME print owners have stayed well clear.

On the software side, however, a switch to cross-media is beginning to look more accessible. Enterprising software firms, recognising smaller printers’ needs to have some form of cross-media capability, have developed solutions that are priced at a more manageable rate. Costing as little as £1,000 per month plus a small per-item click charge, software as a service (SAAS) offerings get around the problem of how to offer complex software solutions more cheaply.

One such package is MindFire. This is a platform that allows printers to offer email campaigns, Twitter, Facebook and SMS integration, PURL campaigns and the means to track responses.

Alan Smith, director of MindFire supplier PrintXchange, says that because SAAS solutions like MindFire are hosted on the software company’s servers, printers can save on upfront fees. Plus, they won’t have to buy their own server hardware and internet connectivity.

"With traditional cross-media platforms, the printer has to pay at least £60,000-70,000 for the package and often around £7,000 for servers, with £200 per month for internet connectivity," he says. "But people can get MindFire for, say, £7,500. That includes setup, training, the first year’s service support  and £0.02 per PURL sent out."

Such SAAS products are becoming so widespread and trusted, now, adds Smith, that even some of the larger printer-come-cross-media-providers are seeing them as a good way of reducing their overheads.

Cross-media marketing provider Communisis is one such company, although admittedly its cheaper options are combined with more expensive systems. Chief technology officer Nic Sheen reports that, along with the comprehensive email platform ExactTarget and a document composition package that Communisis built itself, the company also uses Email Center for some campaigns, an effective but also relatively inexpensive email platform.

"These days, technology certainly doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive," says Sheen. "You can sign up with an email provider like Email Center, which could charge you as little as £100 per month and then a click charge for the emails going out the door."

He adds that there are numerous other SAAS email packages now available, such as MailChimp and Lastrek, which, depending on the complexity of a printer’s needs, could be the key to providing effective cross-media services.

Predictably, manufacturers of large-scale non-SAAS cross-media platforms say SAAS packages are cheaper for a reason. Martin Smith, head of marketing at digital communications software developer Neolane, says comprehensive cross-media packages offer the most automated and sophisticated campaigns.

"What Neolane has, which a lot of smaller packages don’t, is conversational technology," he says. "This means that the software can ensure we’re interacting with the client in a very personalised way. Less sophisticated packages can do that, but it would have to be done more manually, which can be time-consuming."

Manual intervention
While manual intervention may be a struggle for already busy SMEs, a little hands on tinkering is not out of the question if only a relatively small number of campaigns are being run. But there might be an issue when they want to upscale their electronic offering, says Giles Hill, managing director at document production software specialist Sefas.

"SAAS packages are a great way of starting out, but the problem is that they don’t necessarily offer scalability," he says. "This is a problem when you consider how quickly that side of a printer’s business can grow. Someone might be doing 10,000 clicks today for the local company down the road, but by opening up more channels like text messages, their volume of clicks suddenly increase hugely."

In the above scenario, a pay-as-you-go package may no longer be sophisticated enough for the printer’s offering. It may also cease to be the most cost-effective option. This is because as a printer’s cross-media client-base grows, they can end up paying more money long-term on per-month fees and click charges than if they were paying for a package up-front. And so a switch to a fully-fledged, owned package will ultimately be advisable.

PrintXchange’s Smith admits that packages such as MindFire don’t come with the option of graduating to a fully owned package. He says, though, that they are still an excellent way for printers to build up their cross-media customer-base and confidence, ready to invest in ownership of another brand’s software package.

Some of the bigger developers, such as Neolane, have cottoned on to this ‘training wheels’ sell. Specifically, Neolane released hosted versions of it software. This works in a similar way to the SAAS-only cross-media packages, but comes with the additional advantage of a simple switch from a hosted to a fully-fledged version.

Rumours abound that several leading print software manufacturers will follow and will reveal plans for these kinds of hosted offerings in the coming pre-Drupa months. A partnership, then, could prove an increasingly popular, low-cost way for some printers to test the cross-media waters before they opt to take the plunge.

Software, though, is only half the investment an SME will need to make to get into cross-media. As any print business owner worth his weight in toner knows, technology is never the only cost consideration when it comes to branching into a new field.

David Timpson, sales director at printer and cross-media provider Rapidity (previously Printflow), says that personnel was the most significant cost incurred throughout Rapidity’s recent diversification into electronic offerings.

"Investment is obviously needed in software, but investment in people is even more important," he says. "You need someone to manage and program the software, and you need to invest in training your sales team to sell cross-media; this kind of sell is very different to print."

Rapidity is a good example of an SME printer that has managed the switch into cross-media work, but the SME market is varied and some will say Rapidity is at the top end, able to pay a solutions architect or similar professional the annual going-rate of £40,000 to £50,000.

Similar expenses are incurred when the costs of rebranding a business so clients can trust its cross-media credentials are considered.

"We felt we needed to rebrand from Printflow to Rapidity because the perception of us as just a printer was beginning to hold us back in sales scenarios," says Timpson. He puts the overall cost of the rebrand, including a new website, signage and other marketing materials, at around £20,000-£25,000.

With the costs totting up, some SMEs may well have bailed out already. But even those able to afford the technology, personnel and rebrand costs must accept that the cross-media market is already well-established, and has little room available for newcomers.

Despite the competition, though, Wesley Dowding, director of digital and new media at print and electronic marketing provider Inc Direct, says that investing now in cross-media services could still be a shrewd move for companies whose existing client-base is interested in this area. Cross-selling to these clients is still a significant opportunity, he says, because the printer will have already gained trust and can offer a one-stop shop for all of their marketing needs.

"A golden rule is to cross-sell to existing clients, rather than finding new work," he says. "So I think first of all you need to identify whether your specific client-base actually has a need for cross-media."

In fact, those thinking of adding a cross-media facet to their business may be heartened to hear the argument that there’s greater need within an SME printer’s client-base than within a larger printer’s.

The danger for printers catering for large brands, explains Neolane’s Smith, is that clients are more likely to purchase their own cross-media platforms and bring integrated marketing campaigns in-house. Meanwhile, smaller-scale – perhaps local – clients may be looking for some, bespoke  expert guidance from their printer.

Emerging mediums
For those still concerned that they may become little fish in a very large cross-media pond, Daniel Pattison, group sales director at POS and outdoor media specialist Augustus Martin, has some further advice. He would add that another way printers might ensure they aren’t competing directly with those who have more experience and resources in cross-media is to carve out a niche in an emerging medium – one example would be social media.

In this way, Pattison says, small printers might be just as well-placed to make money from emerging digital media offerings as printers with big budgets. What’s required here, he says, isn’t necessarily expensive all-singing, all-dancing software, but the ability to be communications-savvy and invest in the next big trend.

Communisis’ Sheen agrees that, with integrated campaigns far from an established science, there is plenty of – if not more – opportunity for small printers to discover the most effective ways of communicating with consumers.

"People are still getting their heads round cross-media," he says. "So I think there’s a real opportunity for small businesses. It’s all about creativity and agility and it’s hard for large organisations to be agile. Smaller organisations can experiment and try things at the drop of a hat."

Taking risks
Neolane’s Smith adds that not trying new things and not engaging in cross-media may even be more of a detriment to a company than taking the risk of getting involved.

"Becoming a cross-media provider is never going to be an easy thing for a small printer to afford, but the question is: what happens if they just stay as a small printer? Is just sticking with print," he asks, "something small printers can afford to do?"

SMEs may well find that, despite the emergence of more affordable cross-media software, they have no choice because they still can’t afford to become a cross-media supplier. Granted, the SAAS models may bring costs down significantly, but associated expenditure remains high and, largely, out of reach for SMEs. For some businesses – those with the right customer base for cross-media expansion and a keen eye on emerging cross-media opportunities; or with a larger wallet – the risk of expenditure may be justified. But for the majority of SMEs, the financial outlay will be too much of a gamble in already tight economic times.

READER REACTION

THE MANUFACTURER
Graham Moore, director, Ricoh Europe
"While Direct Smile is our most sophisticated software solution for printers wanting to offer multiple channel communications, Ricoh can also cater for those wanting cheaper, entry-level software with our TotalFlow portfolio. This includes solutions for  print and direct mail, email, online, PURL, social media, SMS, design, campaign execution and management and tracking.

My advice to SME printers wanting to branch out would be that, while it’s best to start small with cross-media, you’ve got to make it a big part of your business to succeed. For branching into cross-media to work, printers must dedicate enough focus to this new area of the business."

THE LARGE CROSS-MEDIA PROVIDER
Lucy Edwards, assistant managing director, Howard Hunt Group
"As upfront capital for technology is less of an issue for printers branching into cross-media, it’s now not the size of the business that should dictate whether they make this move, but the nature of their clients. Cross-media could be just as suitable for some small printers, as it’s for large companies like Howard Hunt. But it’s all about listening to where your clients want they want to go.

It’s important to feel your way into this market. It’s no good going from being a printer one day to a fully-fledged cross-media marketer the next. That’s a massive leap. I think you should start off quite small-scale, with a bit of software and a bit of expertise, and then gradually grow."

THE SME CROSS-MEDIA PROVIDER
Wesley Dowding, director of digital and new media, Inc Direct
"When we first moved into becoming cross-media providers around 2005, we were certainly in the SME category. Our success in growing our business through investing in this area was down mainly to how careful we were to invest in software specialists before the actual kit. I’d advise others to do the same, because that specialist will be able to identify what will be the best software to invest in.

The other key to our success has been seeing cross-media as a bulk game: the more you send out, the more profitable it is. In fact, I liken SMS blasting to the web print of online. If you get the numbers, you have the opportunity to make some nice money."