Now, you might be thinking ‘I can see where this is going, she’s going to aim to make me spend ALL the money’ but that’s where you are wrong. I don’t want my clients spending money unnecessarily. Remember, I am your brand cheerleader - I want you to spend money where the return on investment is BIG and honestly, I think there are ways to save money on business stationery. So, let’s dive in shall we?

If you Google, ‘what business stationery do I need?’ you’ll be hit with 270,000,000 results* of people telling you the hundreds of variations of printed materials that you will simply fail without…can you hear me eye-rolling from behind my screen? Thought you might, seriously, no one is failing at business from not having a compliments slip. Come on!

The first thing to consider, are the times in your business that you interact with your customers in person - be it at an event, in your shop, when they receive an online order - be that you personally or your products. Write down some ideas now… here are a few trigger moments to consider:

Is there a moment when you give people your business details (phone number, email etc)? Write down ‘business card’.
Why would someone ask you for a business card? What are they actually looking for? Is there something you currently offer them? Is your website easy to remember? Are you scribbling down your details on a napkin? If you are, how very Carrie Bradshaw of you.
Do you brand your packaging? Do you need to brand your packaging? Ideas: stickers, branding packaging tape, notecard.
Do you need to explain how to use your products? Note: Instructions leaflet
Do you need to explain any after-care from your service? Include an After-purchase care card.
Do you have a tool to send invoices and quotes or do you need a branded letterhead to ensure customers know where their invoice is from? Include: Letterhead
How do you seal your packaging? Tape, sticker, wax seal, ribbon?
How do you pitch your business? Brochure, media kit, lookbook?
Do your products ship to those that order them, or are they a gift? If they are a gift, you might want to brand your product or include a leaflet, discount or business card to encourage new customers.
Speaking of discounts, do you offer, or talk about promotions to encourage repeat custom e.g. drop a discount card in an order’s packaging?

*…are you as surprised as I am by this number of hits? It’s 100% true as of 12th Feb! Excuse while I just pick up my jaw…

Got your list of potential stationery? ⭐️Gold star for you! Now to make an edit by considering the purpose of each item, or the problem that item solves. Note it down next to each item.

A client recently told me that she wanted her business card to work harder for her. She wanted to include it on the bouquets of flowers she was putting together for clients who were gifting bunches and also buying for themselves. We developed a square card that has all her details on it and looks perfect used as a gift tag too.

The ultimate goal is to make you look like the professional business or brand that you are, so consider how each item can elevate you. Are there any items that do the same job? If yes, can you combine this stationery in order to save some £££? What about:

Using branded tape OR a sticker to seal packages. Also, stick that tape or sticker to compliment slips (no printing required!) to brand them.
Leaving the back of your business card plain, so that it can be used in place of a compliment slip.
Combining instructions, aftercare, requests for review, future purchase discounts all on one leaflet, with your details? That way you are putting one item into the order or giving to a client after a service saving the environment as well as your pocket.

Instead of making everything multi-purpose, also consider digitising. In the era of zoom, who really needs a business card right now anyway?

Create a QR code for free that links to the contact page of your website instead of printing tons of business cards. Ask clients to scan the QR code using the camera on their smartphone in order get in touch with you, or have it drive them to your Instagram page, and ask that they follow you to keep up to date.
Have a digital letterhead created that you can use for cover letters, pitching, invoicing and quotes as well as any legal documentation. No need to print and post everything anymore, save the £££ for online marketing!
If you are using appointment cards, why not set up a better email system (I recommend Hannah Spicer for this!) to send you clients a digital reminder of their appointment, especially if they can add it to their iCal or Google Calendar.

Right, so now you should have a lovely refined list of the must-have items…we’ve talked about lots of ways to reduce down the overall costs but now I am going to get specific. If you are printing stationery keep in mind the following:

The cost per unit will be lower if you print more. Printing costs are not proportionate to the number of units you buy as there is an initial outlay for the printing in most circumstances be it in the materials or in printing plates. This is a fixed figure for each job and won’t change as drastically if you order more. So if you are spending £50 on 20 items, the cost per unit is £2.50 - however, the same spec might only cost you £80 to print 40 units, reducing the unit cost to £2 each.
This is ONLY relevant if you have an item that you are likely to use for a long time. If the details or copy on the print is likely to change soon, or has a short life span don’t buy extra for the sake of the unit cost. Consider waiting until things are more concrete if you can.
The material that you print on can make major changes to the price. As with most things the more premium the stock (paper, vinyl etc) the higher the price. If that paper stock branded, it’s also likely to be of a higher perceived value or cost…isn’t branding magical? See if your printer has an unbranded version of the type of material you like, or give them an indication of the finish you’d like e.g. a heavyweight matte white stock and they can advise accordingly. Alternatively, ask your designer for their recommendations!
Some processes like foiling are luxurious looking and bang on trend, but consider the lifetime of your print before including this within a spec. If the item is of a ‘throwaway’ nature like an invoice, it’s probably a waste of time foiling it. If the item is likely to make your first impression (a business card!) then you’ve got a much better reason to shell out.

Remember, you don’t need every piece of stationery under the sun to look professional and authentic. Save money and time by considering purpose, use, specification and question whether print is really necessary if an item can be digitised it will keep things a whole lot cheaper.

You should now have a list of the stationery you really need as a small or medium business and a few ways of cinching in those purse strings. If you’d like more help, I’d love to work with you to create the stationery on your list, so get in touch here… or have a look for some inspo here. Definitely give me a follow on Instagram for regular tips like this, I’d love to see your business profile!

Next week, I’ll be sharing tips on how to create content that resonates with your audience…let’s ditch generic content and make the time you spend on marketing 💯 worth it!