10 Reasons Why In-Plants Should Offer ePublishing Services

Written by Tricia Bhattacharya
Manager, Marketing, Large Enterprise Organization
I recently came back from the IPMA annual conference in Milwaukee, where the theme was “Full Throttle Communications.” Given the trends in the industry and considering we were in the birthplace of Harley Davidson, that theme was very appropriate.
After seeing attendees taking notes on iPads and checking smartphones, there’s little doubt that the way people communicate has changed.
Although printed communication remains important, many of us want content in electronic formats, too.  Since in-plants are already handling the printed pieces, it makes sense to offer expanded and complementary services that are in line with today’s communication trends.
One area with tremendous growth potential that in-plants should be considering is ePublishing.  Xerox’s FreeFlow Digital Publisher makes it easy to get started. This unified print and electronic workflow automates creation of digital editions or “apps” of content. It also provides robust analytics.
Still unconvinced? Here are 10 reasons why your in-plant should offer ePublishing services.
1. Deepen relationships with existing customers and open doors to new ones.  Need a reason to talk to the marketing department?  Ask how they plan to communicate with customers through mobile and online platforms. Then give them an answer.
2. Expand your services without investment in costly technical resources.  FreeFlow Digital Publisher is cost-effective and easy. No expensive investments in equipment or staffing involved.
3. Enhance value and lengthen the life of documents.  Do your customers inventory back issues of alumni magazines, newsletters, training manuals or parts catalogs? Use FreeFlow Digital Publisher  to create an app to host documents and give them longer life in the online world.
4. Support sustainability.  Many organizations are looking to reduce print to satisfy sustainability initiatives. ePublishing services align you with those goals.
5. Give the reader what they want, when and how they want it.  People want print, but they also want information electronically. You already handle print, so why not expand to provide information electronically, too? ePublishing makes a perfect complement to print.
6. Provide a dynamic user experience.  Distribution of electronic information has its advantages, like the ability to embed hyperlinks and videos. Search functionality is also attractive and available within electronic documents.
7. Provide document tracking and usage statistics.  Information is the new currency (ask Google or Facebook.) The more information you have about how documents are used, the more valuable you become to document owners.
8. Use analytics to improve content.  Your data helps document owners understand what content is most valuable to readers. This drives well-targeted print and cross-media campaigns.
9. Discover new revenue streams.  ePublishing is a new frontier with few players but much opportunity. In-plants can add these in-demand services at reduced costs and drive healthy margins.
10. Be more strategically relevant.  Organizations and customers are moving in this direction. Why not provide ePublishing services yourself, instead of losing that business to an outside supplier? Just because print runs are shrinking doesn’t mean your value has to.
Want to learn more about FreeFlow Digital Publisher? There are ten good reasons why you should.