Fifty enquiries for five hundred boxes
The website contact form brings in a steady flow of enquiries from small brands: a candle maker wants printed mailer boxes, a skincare start up wants a small run of cartons, a subscription box company wants to change suppliers. Each enquiry asks for a price for a few hundred or a few thousand units, often with unclear dimensions and no artwork yet.
Your estimators treat them like any other enquiry, so each takes real time. Most never convert, because the price for a small run shocks a buyer who expected something cheaper. Meanwhile the large customers' enquiries wait.
Small enquiries get the full treatment
Your estimating process is designed for industrial customers with large volumes and complex specs. Small brands have simple needs within a narrow range of styles, but they arrive through the same route, so they get the same careful treatment, which neither side benefits from.
- Small enquiries are estimated from scratch like large ones.
- Buyers do not know your minimums until after the quote.
- Dimensions and print details are unclear.
- Most quotes are never accepted.
- Large customers wait while small enquiries are processed.
What the enquiry flood costs
Estimator time spent on low volume enquiries that rarely convert is time not spent on your core customers. Small brands who wait for a quote go to online packaging suppliers that price instantly. Some of those small brands grow into valuable customers, and you miss them. And the sales team cannot tell which enquiries are worth a call.
A small run configurator we build
- You choose a set of standard styles you are happy to make in small runs, such as mailer boxes and tuck end cartons, with the boards, print options and finishes available for each.
- Pricing rules are set by you: set up costs, price breaks by quantity, minimum order quantity and lead times, based on your costs and how you want to handle small work.
- Buyers enter dimensions, choose options and quantities on your website, and see a price, the minimum and a realistic lead time immediately, with a 3D or flat preview.
- Artwork is uploaded against a dieline template, and a proof is produced for approval before production.
- Orders are paid online through Stripe or your chosen provider, and created as jobs in your MIS or scheduling.
- Requests outside the standard range, such as unusual sizes, special finishes or large quantities, are passed to an estimator with the details already captured.
| Enquiry type | Handled now | Handled afterwards |
|---|---|---|
| Standard mailer, small run | Full estimate | Instant online price |
| Below your minimum | Quoted anyway | Minimum shown upfront |
| Unusual size or finish | Mixed with the rest | Passed to an estimator with details |
| Large volume from a brand | Same queue | Flagged for sales |
What changes for estimators and sales
Estimators handle the enquiries that need them. Small brands get an instant answer and can order at your terms, or decide it is not for them without taking your time. Sales can see which small customers are growing and give them attention. And you can decide whether small run work is a business worth growing, with data rather than a feeling.
Are small enquiries clogging your estimators?
- You get many enquiries for a few hundred boxes.
- Estimators quote small runs from scratch.
- Most small quotes are never accepted.
- Buyers are surprised by your minimums after quoting.
- Core customers wait while small enquiries are handled.