To ensure that any business runs smoothly, it’s important that decisions are carefully considered to help aid growth, and for instantprint, this is where Laura comes in! From how we communicate with our customers right up to how we can improve our processes to provide faster turnaround times, she makes the most of her strategic and leadership skills every day to help the brand grow, both financially and reputably.
We recently sat with Laura to learn about her career so far, from her early days as a Marketing Assistant to her progressing all the way to Head of instantprint, along with everything she’s looking forward to in the coming year from the brand.
How long have you worked at instantprint and how has your role progressed in that time?
I’ve been with instantprint for 8 years now, after joining as an entry level Marketing Assistant after finishing university. At the time I was part of a 2 man marketing team and since then, I’ve grown within the company. A year after starting my journey with the business, I moved into a Campaign Executive role after a year, before becoming the Brand Manager a couple of years after that. Fast forward to January 2021, and I was fortunate enough to move into my current position as Head of instantprint, right in the middle of the pandemic!
What does the average day look like for the Head of instantprint?
My daily role varies depending on what projects we have ongoing, as a key part of my role is ensuring that we get everything across the line! A huge part of my role is deciding which projects the business should undertake. These could be from tech projects including adding new features to improve the artwork journey such as the new dynamic templates for books to managing new product launches, like our recently expanded book range.
What do you think makes instantprint so unique?
I think we’re unique because we really understand what it’s like to be a small business, which helps us relate to our customers. We remember that instantprint started out as a micro business with just 2 people and decided to continue applying the start up mentality as we’ve grown to a workforce of over 400. Applying that logic helps us stay unique and deliver what our customers want!
What has been your career highlight so far at instantprint?
I think my career highlight was seeing growth being injected not only back into the brand, but into our customers as we were coming out of Covid. The pandemic was a scary time, especially for small businesses which were often the hardest hit. We saw a lot of local businesses having to shut down, so we understood the struggles they faced throughout that time. Seeing the economy recover, and seeing small businesses not only go back to how they were pre pandemic, but thrive, leading to our customers starting new businesses using incredible levels of creativity as they pivoted and grew is something which I’ll never forget!
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career?
There are two big lessons that I’ve learnt that come together! Firstly, admit when you don’t know something and secondly, make sure that you spend time to understand things you don’t know about. I feel when you show people respect and that you want to understand what they’re doing, they will in turn respect you. This will lead you to have a much deeper understanding of the problems you’re facing and provide you with further knowledge of different processes and people so you can make more informed and worthwhile decisions.
How does your role fit into the instantprint customer’s journey?
My role will touch most areas of the customer journey, from the products they see on the website and the types of advertising they see, right down to the service they’ll receive from our customer service team. With my role covering such a broad spectrum of the company, my role covers pretty much every aspect of our customer’s experience!
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming 12 months from instantprint?
I’m really looking forward to seeing the impact of our recent investments! We’ve recently invested in a second Landa press and 2 Muller Martini stitchliners. This means that we can both expand on our printing and finishing capacity, helping us meet customer needs while providing a wider range of products at faster turnaround times. We’re committed to investing in revolutionary tech which will help us improve efficiencies, so we can continue delivering on our promise to customers.
What’s your top tip for customers looking to use instantprint for the first time?
It can be daunting if you’re new to print or not sure what you want, so my top tip would be to get in touch. We’ve got a fantastic team full of print experts who can advise you on which paginations will be best for you, what gsm means, the range of paper types we have, along with our personal artworker service who will help with any design or artwork queries you may have!
Which print product is your favourite and why?
My favourite print product is probably the classic business card. The reason behind this is I feel there’s a huge amount of emotion that’s tied to them! Just think, when you start a new job you’re often given your business card with your name, new position and logo. With this in mind, there’s a huge sense of pride behind them which people feel when they receive them, so that would be my favourite print product!
Tell us about your downtime hobbies or a random fact about yourself!
I absolutely love to cook! I love trying new recipes and am currently in the process of cooking a different dish from around the world in alphabetical order. I’m currently up to Andorra, meaning I’ve only made it to country 3, so I’m not doing too well… I’m really going to have to up my game as we progress through 2024!
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