Research shows that a vehicle wrap can generate about 3000 to 70000 viewer impressions every day. An increasingly popular form of branding and advertising, vehicle wraps are favored by companies for the one-time investment and the on-the-go publicity they provide.
Essentially, vehicle wraps are decals that are designed and manufactured to wrap around the car, truck, or van’s body and serve as mobile advertising boards.
Trends to look for
Given that 46% of businesses still do not use their vehicles for branding, there is considerable potential for vehicle wrap businesses to explore the segment that is brimming with potential. We say this despite knowing the pandemic is still very much in the picture.
You see, such offline modes of advertising tend to make a significant impact on the subconscious minds of the customer base. Look at billboards, window graphics, signage — you remember them more often than digital ads (which are found in abundance online).
Therefore, if you are thinking of selling customizable, print-ready vehicle wraps to businesses, that is a fantastic idea, but it requires some time and investment.
Selling printing services to them can yield a lot if you go about it smartly. That is why we have prepared this guide to help you get started:
Types Of Vehicle Wrapping That Are Presently Very Popular
Vehicle wraps are designed to be long-lasting and attractive while being easy to remove and replace as needed. If your clients need vehicle wraps, here are the four main types of wrap they will want to invest in:
1. Glossy wrap
This has a smooth finish and largely resembles the car’s original paintwork. However, it can be customized to any color the end-user needs and includes metallic elements as well.
2. Matte wrap
As the name suggests, this is the opposite of a glossy wrap and does not reflect light. It gives the vehicles a more classy, sophisticated look and is excellent for high-end branding or artworks that have complex designs.
3. Satin wrap
This falls somewhere between the matte and glossy texture. It reflects some light, but not as much as a glossy finish or the original paintwork.
It is a good choice for mobile advertising, as passers-by can view and consume the ad without being distracted by too much light glare.
4. Brushed car wrap
There are two subtypes of brushed wrap, brushed texture car wrap and brushed material car wrap. The brushed texture look is more muted in terms of reflective capacity and generally works well in metallic colors.
Read also: A Complete Guide To Successfully Launching A Photo Canvas Printing Business
Most Common and Popular Types of Vehicles for Wraps
Suppose you are just starting to sell print-ready. In that case, customizable vehicle wraps to businesses, it makes sense to pick a vehicle niche and focus on growing your competency and reputation there.
Different types of vehicles look for different things in wraps. Therefore, it is best to choose one depending on the production capacity and where there is the most scope for differentiation. If you can provide designs for different vehicles, that works as well:
1. Personal vehicles
Small business owners might want a branded wrap for their personal cars to promote their business within their neighborhood. In addition, they will typically ask for messaging that features their contact details prominently. Personal wraps are also in demand among high-profile celebrities to brand themselves or an event or product they are launching.
2. Delivery vans
These are large vehicles with more space on the sides and doors for more prominent messaging. Catering businesses, for instance, could want branded vans to promote their services to a bigger audience and get more orders. You must have seen such decorated vans in movies. They are hard to miss!
3. Fleet vehicles
Car rental services, food delivery aggregators, and tour operators typically own or lease a fleet of vehicles for their exclusive use. Vehicle wraps serve to advertise the business and also act as a point of recognition. When you see a tour bus with the tour operating company’s brand on it, you know the kind of experience you are signing up for.
4. Race-cars
Professional racing vehicles will want wraps to showcase the team name and highlight the brands sponsoring the team. The placement of ads on the race cars is also essential, but that is another story. The printed wraps need to be exceptionally high in quality to withstand the wear and tear of professional racing.
Read also: How To Launch A Print Packaging Ecommerce Business In 2024
The Benefits of Sharing Custom Vehicle Wraps Online: How It Can Help Your Business
If you have an artistic eye and want to start a custom print business from home, nothing should stop you because of the support of technology easily available.
The market is ripe, and with the world economy steadily heading back to normalcy and footfall increasing in prominent public areas, the need for offline modes of advertising is only going to increase.
While it does involve some upfront investment in terms of equipment and material, you will also see substantial profits if you deploy the right web-to-print software solution that helps you deliver quality results and market your smartly:
1. Reach clients globally
By selling online, you do not limit yourself to the vehicle wrap businesses in your geographical location only. Clients in countries far away from yours can sport your distinctive vehicle wrap designs and print quality, giving you more exposure there too. Just be sure to have the proper logistical support for delivering orders outside of your country.
2. Enjoy less competition
Most new print businesses tend to go for smaller consumer items like mugs or T-shirts, which are less expensive to start with. Therefore, if you have the extra resources, investing in a web-to-print solution to cater to vehicle wrap businesses will set you apart and lessen the amount of competition you contend with.
3. Cater to different businesses
From food delivery services to tour bus operators, more and more businesses are waking up to the benefits of a vehicle wrap as a branding tactic. Now is a good time for new companies that offer quality services and distinctive designs to seek print service providers. Grab the opportunity with both hands with a dynamic W2P storefront.
4. Benefit from mobile advertising
Vehicle wraps attract attention as they are being driven around. Passers-by will notice the brand on the advertisement and the color and design of the wrap itself. In a sense, the print service provider is advertising itself as well.
Meaning, those who like the design might ask the brand to get their vehicle wrap designed and printed from and contact you for orders themselves. That way, you will have a steady flow of leads in your pipeline.
5. Achieve big returns
Vehicle wraps tend to be priced on the higher side because of the nature of work and the high-quality material involved. This means that if you bag a certain number of orders, you will see returns sooner, particularly if you get a large order like an entire fleet of rental cars. In addition, your initial investment in setting up the storefront would easily get offset.
Read also: How to Start a Printing Business from Home: Step-by-Step Guide 2024
Features that vehicle wrap printing businesses would leverage
Selling in a digital-first world comes with several advantages in terms of service quality and marketing capacity. Web-to-print technology gives you a competitive gain from the start by enabling you to provide a range of features, including:
1. 3D previews
A vehicle wrap design looks very different from the actual car than on a 2D screen, particularly concerning textural differences. Therefore, have a feature enabled by which clients can preview, on your storefront, what their vehicle will look like after the wrap application. This way, small errors and customizations can be identified and fixed early on.
2. Online customization
The beauty of doing business in the Internet age is that you are not restricted to designers who can come into the office. Instead, search online for the best designers from around the world who can create the look you need.
Design’N’Buy provides an extensive photo, vector, and clipart library along with a ton of styling elements and fonts to enable the end-user to design their prints however they like.
Therefore, be sure to invest in high-end product design tool that lets you get even the smallest details right.
3. Live pricing
Accurate pricing is essential to setting expectations with your clients and drawing future business from them. Depending on the web-to-print solution you implement, you can enable a live pricing facility for your end-users.
That way, they will be able to get an estimate of their order based on the vehicle wrap material, quantities they want to get printed, add-on customizations, shipping charges (if applicable), and so on.
The functionality will also eliminate the to-and-fro that usually happens between the sales reps and end-users. Decisions will be made faster. Sales will be closed swiftly. Your customers will be happier. More importantly, you will earn more.
4. Online marketing with the work done
Once your design is complete, please take photos of the vehicle and promote it online, tagging your client’s social media handle as well. This not only showcases your design proficiency but also acts as extra promotion for your client. As a result, you earn further goodwill from your client, and they will talk about your work in turn.
How to grow your printing company selling custom vehicle wraps
As with any new venture, a well-structured plan is essential for your business to grow. Have strategies for both the short-term and the long-term, and be sure to focus on your marketing efforts as they will come in handy in the future:
1. Chalk out a business plan
This is the roadmap that showcases where you currently are, where you need to be, and the steps you need to take to get there. Do your homework on the industry space and what your competitors are currently doing before working on this.
Areas to consider include marketing, operations, sales, and finance. It would be best if you also had a mentor look over your plan and point out any areas of improvement.
2. Have a marketing plan
Study your market and your core audience and develop a strategy with time-bound objectives and suitable tactics and metrics to evaluate your performance. You should also set aside an appropriate marketing budget for paid ads.
3. Lay down a digital marketing strategy
This is a critical component of any business strategy in today’s digital-first world. You can hire a digital marketing expert to help you chalk out the right plan for your business. In addition, digital marketing gives you valuable data on customer behavior, which you can use to reach and connect with them better.
4. Do a bit of PR for the business
Public relations gives you exposure to a broad audience and helps you maintain positive credibility. PR is a great way to promote any new products you have launched or any awards you may have won. With good publicity, you can get customers to come to you rather than you having to look for them. It also boosts your credibility.
5. Create a buzz on social media
Given that social media is how most people communicate, having a solid presence on channels like Facebook and YouTube is imperative. Use them to promote your printing services, share demo videos and seek out followers who can be potential brand ambassadors for you.
6. Sort out your pricing model
While you should certainly ask for a down payment before starting the project, share your final bill based on your expenses. So if you ended up using less material than planned, reduce the price and show your customers where they are saving. They will appreciate the honesty and be likelier to order from you again.
Over to you
Times are looking up for the entire world. And there is no reason why you cannot take a step forward and create a niche for yourself by selling print solutions to vehicle-wrapping businesses. Any online shop thrives on a solid foundation.
Therefore, be sure to deploy a robust online design tool solution so that you and your customers have access to some incredible features that make shopping exciting!
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