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Printing businesses · Referral marketing

The designer who drew the box decides which press prints it.

Most print work is handed to a printer by somebody who is not the customer. Graphic designers, small advertising agencies, wedding and event planners and corporate gifting firms place job after job on behalf of clients. GullySales builds the relationships with those trades and settles how commission is handled before it becomes awkward.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

Realistic editorial illustration of printing businesses at work in India

What referral marketing means

Referral marketing is asking an existing customer to recommend you to someone they know, usually with a reward for both sides. It differs from a loyalty scheme because it brings in a new customer rather than a repeat purchase. GullySales builds the ask and the reward into a point where a customer is already satisfied.

Also for printing businesses

Sales and marketing for printing businesses, the overview.

Last updated 5 Oct 2026.

For printing businesses

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

  • “One designer places more print in a year than any single customer”

    She has fifteen clients, all of whom need cards, brochures, standees and packaging. Win her and you get fifteen accounts you never had to quote for. Lose one job of hers badly and you lose all fifteen at once.

  • “Event and wedding planners buy on the date, not the rate”

    A planner needs eight hundred invitations for a fixed function and cannot explain a delay to the family. A printer who has never missed one of their dates is worth protecting, and they will send everything they have.

  • “Commission is normal here, so write it down”

    Designers and planners in this trade expect a percentage and there is no use being coy about it. Agree the figure, agree whether it is on the job or on the print value, and put it in a message both of you can read back.

What we do

What we deliver for printing businesses.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

  1. A list of the design and planning trades near you

    Freelance designers, small agencies, wedding and event planners and gifting firms working in your area, with who has been approached and what they place.

    Result: You know which introductions are worth pursuing.

  2. A trade rate card the designer can quote from

    Your rates for the jobs these trades place most, written so a designer can mark them up and give her client a figure without ringing you.

    Result: She can quote her client from your card the same day.

  3. Commission terms agreed in writing

    The percentage, what it applies to, when it is paid, and what happens on a repeat order, settled with each referrer before the first job.

    Result: Nobody is arguing about a cut after the job is delivered.

  4. Sample kits made for the people who specify

    A small box of your boards, finishes and foils with your name on it, made for a designer's desk rather than for a customer's reception.

    Result: Your stock is what she reaches for when she specifies.

  5. Referral source recorded on every job card

    One field naming who sent the work, filled in at order entry, so a designer's real contribution over a year can be seen.

    Result: You can tell which relationships are earning their commission.

  6. A thank you that does not depend on memory

    An agreed gesture once a referred job is delivered and paid, the same for everyone, so no referrer feels quietly overlooked.

    Result: The people placing work with you keep placing it.

How the result is measured

  • Referrals received
  • Referral conversion rate
  • Cost per referred customer

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Read the full referral marketing page

How referrals reach a print shop

The customer who sends you most work is rarely the one who pays for it.

The freelance graphic designer
A designer places print for several clients. Give him a rate card he can quote from, a sample of your paper and finishing, and a named person who knows his files by name.
The wedding and event planner
A planner buys by the date of the function. Show her what you can produce for invitations, backdrops and menus when the date is fixed, and who will pick up the phone when a proof is late.
The small advertising agency and the gifting firm
Both buy for clients and mark up your price. Agree whether they quote from your rate card or add their own, so a client who sees both prices does not lose trust in either.
The paper merchant and the machine mechanic
They see which press is busy and which is short of capacity. Tell them what job types you want, so a shop that cannot take a job sends the buyer on to you.
What never to do
Never contact a designer's client behind his back, quote that client a lower price or criticise the designer's files. A designer who loses a client to you stops sending any work.

Who it is for

This is written for these printing businesses.

  • Commercial offset printing businesses
  • Digital and quick-print shops
  • Packaging and label printing businesses
  • Large format and signage printers
  • Wedding and event stationery printers
  • Corporate stationery and print suppliers
  • Textile and garment printing businesses
  • Print-on-demand and personalised merchandise printers

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

  • You want a guaranteed Google ranking or a guaranteed number of leads. Nobody honest can promise either.
  • You need enquiries by next week and have nobody to answer them.
  • You want posts and reach reported, not enquiries and orders.

How it works

From your first message to the first report.

No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.

  1. First

    Your brief

    You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.

  2. After the brief

    A conversation and a written scope

    We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.

  3. Before work starts

    Baseline recorded

    Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.

  4. After the baseline

    The first fix goes live

    The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is reply time, a follow-up sequence, the page buyers land on or the handover between marketing and sales.

  5. As agreed

    Report against the baseline

    What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.

  6. At renewal

    Renew on the numbers

    The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.

How the referral marketing work runs

  1. 1

    Understand your margin and customer relationship

    We agree what reward is genuinely sustainable and appropriate for your business and customer type.

  2. 2

    Audit existing informal referrals

    We check how much word of mouth already happens, to size expectations for the formal programme realistically.

  3. 3

    Design the offer and mechanism

    A specific reward and an easy sharing method are built and tested.

  4. 4

    Implement and promote

    The programme is surfaced at the right moments in your customer journey.

  5. 5

    Measure and adjust

    We track referrals and conversions, adjusting the reward or promotion if uptake is low.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
Should we go direct to the designer's client for a better margin?
No, and it is the fastest way to lose the whole trade. Designers talk to each other and word travels through that community in a week. If a client approaches you directly, tell the designer before you quote.
What commission do printers usually pay a designer?
It varies by city, by job type and by how much work the designer brings, so do not take a number from anyone else. Decide what you can afford on your own margins, offer it plainly, and keep it the same across everyone so you are never caught out.
The designer's client rings us directly for a reprint. Who owns that customer?
Tell the designer before you quote and agree in writing how reprints are handled. Most designers expect the work to come back through them. If the client insists on dealing direct, say so openly and agree the commission.
Should our name go on the packing slip when a designer places the job?
Ask the designer. Some prefer plain packing, because the client is theirs, and some do not mind. Your own name on the carton is a small thing, but a designer who finds it unasked may stop sending you jobs.
Do we need to advertise?
Not for urgent jobs, which are won on a fast quote and visible samples. Ads help for a specific push, such as wedding invitations from October or a new packaging line.
Should we check the label text a food brand sends us?
Yes, before the plates are made. Point out a missing FSSAI licence number, net quantity or MRP, even though the brand is responsible for them. A reprint costs both of you, and the brand remembers the printer who caught it.
How much does it cost?
There is no price list, because the work differs by business. The fee is scoped after we have read your brief and spoken to you, and put in writing before anything starts, split into our time, your media spend and production.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.

From the blog

Further reading for printing businesses.

All articles

More for printing businesses

Everything else we would do for you.

Closest to this: customers after the sale

Also for printing businesses

Or start from the overview: sales and marketing for printing businesses.

Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.

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