The group has developed an online platform aimed at letting SMEs run targeted marketing campaigns across print, email and SMS.
Salmat chief executive Grant Harrod (pictured) told ProPrint that the company had developed the service for SMEs after conducting a series of focus groups last year.
“The opportunity in this market is quite large, because their only other choice is the local newspaper or Yellow Pages, and they don’t have that targeted appeal that we can provide,” he said.
“A lot of these companies spend all day servicing their clients and they don’t get time to think about marketing.”
Salmat is currently trialling a beta version of the online platform with some of its clients in Victoria. Harrod said it would wind up the trial at the end of June and roll out the system nationally in July or August.
The service leverages Salmat’s existing presence in print management, distribution, and IT.
On the print side, Harrod said the company would “act as a print broker” for SMEs’ print requirements, such as flyers and catalogues. The portal will allow buyers to design, print and distribute marketing material to their specifications.
As part of the expansion, Harrod said the company would look at expanding its management base of around 100 printers and “give more access to regional printers”.
“We’ll want to use local printers to help shorten the supply chain,” he said.
In addition to emphasising the use of local printers, Harrod said the printer for each job would be selected using the company’s existing criteria for farming out print work, which focuses on “price competitiveness and quality of offering”.
“Some jobs will play to specific providers. Maybe we’ll end up doing a unique print job which requires a more specialised skill-set. That limits the playing field. But most of it will be basic offset work with flyers and brochures,” he said.
SMEs will also have access to a series of pre-designed templates to help them select the most print design for their campaign.
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