Print is a luxury. And luxury isn’t cheap.
We use print to enhance customer experience. It increases the perceived value of a brand and our emotional connection with it.
In short, when used correctly, it makes your customers feel special.
Yes, there are cheap print options out there. And yes, you should set a budget. But when it comes down to it, if you want to add value to your high ticket offers your print assets must match the high caliber of your offer.
The Budget Formula
I recently read the book Giftology by John Rhulin. While the book was largely geared toward Gifting as a marketing tool, the principals he wrote about apply to onboarding.
John suggests that if a client spends $20,000 on your services, you should invest 5% back into them.
If a client is spending $20,000 on your premium coaching package, that works out to $1000.
Now I’m not going to tell you that you need to spend $1000 on onboarding materials for your clients. That’s preposterous.
But that figure is a good starting point. Let’s break down a typical onboarding kit.
What goes in the kit?
The cost of an onboarding kit can be a doozy because it’s an upfront cost. But it’s an investment in the long term that will reap you many rewards.
A typical kit for my clients will include a few print items:
- a journal, workbook, or curriculum
- a welcome note
- the packaging
- and I like to encourage the addition of an item based on personal interest.
The packaging is typically the most expensive asset. You’re easily looking at anywhere between 2-4 thousand dollars for 100-200 boxes. Envelopes are cheaper, and may be an option depending on the items you intend to give.
Keep in mind this is high end custom branded packaging.
We are creating an experience for your clients. You want them to feel cared for, delighted, and like they’ve just made the best investment of their lives. This is what creates raving fans. People who are going to speak your name in a room full of opportunity. Because where there is one ideal client, there are more.
The contents
We may not print as many books as we do packaging. With all print, the higher the volume the lower the cost per piece. But packaging tends to have a longer shelf life. So even if you’re only serving 20 clients a year, your packaging can stand the test of time.
Books on the other hand change more frequently. Not so much the design, but the contents. As you learn new things, you naturally want to pass that info on to your clients. Which means… content updates!
So when it comes to books, I encourage you to think a year out. How many will you use in one year. That’s how many we’ll print. With a few extra of course as a buffer.
For high quality books, your looking at an investment of $1000-$2000.
The item of personal interest will of course need to be added after the fact. Once you know who it is you’re onboarding. Let’s budget $150 for this. They are a high ticket clients after all.
And finally the thank you note or card. This is always the least expensive piece as it doesn’t typically require much in the way of fancy finishing to make it effective.
We’ll design either a notecard or a letterhead that you can handwrite a special note on for your clients.
Again, it’s all about creating an experience.
Additional Costs
Other cost you’ll want to consider are the design, the assembly, and the shipping.
A typical onboarding package with Waypoint is a 5-figure investment. This gets you the strategy, our keen eye for print design, and of course we figure out all the print details.
No back and forth with the printer, no trying to figure out what the heck a print-ready file is, and no staying up til midnight trying to Google the best printers.
Trust me when I say that’s a nightmare. Printers have the worst seo on the planet. Unless they’re vistaprint they aren’t ranking on Google.
So we at Waypoint act as your print and design concierge. Like my client Deedee said “You took so much off my plate. No, it’s like you took more than
one plate out of my life so I didn’t have to think about it.”
The last thing you’ll want to consider is shipping.
Because shipping costs are dependant on size, weight, and distance this can be a tricky thing to estimate.
You can purchase a flat rate shipping box from Canada Post for around $25. So let’s use this as our base rate.
The Total Investment
Ok, so let’s work this out:
Strategy, design, and print coordination – $10,000
Package printing – $3000/100
Book printing – $1500/20
Thank you card – $60/50
Extra gift – $150/client
Shipping- $25/client
When you break it all down this adds up to less than $350 a client. Which leaves you the other $650 to surprise and delight your client randomly over the duration of your time together and beyond.
Remember taking care of your clients creates raving fans. Raving fans equals a steady stream of amazing aligned clients.
Plus it just friging feels good ❤
Ready to bring to life the perfect print assets to surprise and delight your people? Let’s chat!