Interview: Why The Woodland Trust chose RightMarket over a Web-to-Print supplier

Web-To-Print: From risk-free investment to labour-intensive burden

When RightMarket first approached The Woodland Trust, they had been utilising a Web-to-Print solution for 3 years. At the time, its primary attraction had been its low price and the claim it had limitless potential.

It seemed like an easy decision to make for the Print Production Manager, Jonathan Dye. It had minimal impact on his budget as well as the potential to reduce the number of design requests the Creative Team received.

Frustrations began to creep in as Jonathan’s understanding of the system grew. To see any value out of the system, he had to produce the answers. Consequently, it began to demand more and more of his valuable time.

Its limited functionality, hard to use interface, and lack of support left Jonathan with a lot to manage. Consequently, what had initially been a risk-free investment had quickly become a full-time role. To compound things, after 3 years of use, it had become difficult to remove. Many users relied on it for their artwork and the influx of demand for design would overwhelm Creative.

That left Jonathan with a full-time role supporting and maintaining the system on top of all his other responsibilities. While the system was being used, The Woodland Trust were seeing little return on the time they were investing.

We interviewed Jonathan about his journey. We spoke about overcoming the problems their existing solution had created, as well as how RightMarket helped relieve the issues and frustrations he was experiencing with Web-to-Print.

Who are The Woodland Trust?

The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. They are concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. They have planted over 43 million trees since 1972.

An interview with Jonathan Dye

The Woodland Trust’s Web-to-Print Problem

Q: Why were you looking to change after 3 years of using a Web-to-Print system?

JD: We got it through one of our print suppliers at the time. We got it cheap, which involved a small fee upfront followed by a fee of a few hundred pounds per month. We saw it as something for nothing.

It was like being chucked a bucket of Lego and being told to do what we want with it!

Q: Interesting analogy! What did users think of the Web-to-Print system?
JD: Users told us that it was too overwhelming. They didn’t know where to start. This led to them continuing to put requests into the Creative team, or even worse, attempt it themselves off-brand. That goes against our brand and defeats the objective of having a system.

I had to personally write a “bible” for users on how to use it – that was for staff members!

We wouldn’t have dared to give access to volunteers & supporters despite the potential benefits. That is a great shame.

Q: What did you think about the Web-to-Print service?
JD: In truth, there wasn’t a service!

I had to do everything associated with the system. It took up much of my time. It was unintentionally becoming a full-time job, and that’s with a limited amount of usage in return.

All this came on top of my other job roles and responsibilities. I don’t know how I managed to stay with it all this time.

We never received any attention, engagement, or ‘what’s next’ with the product. It was quite apparent that charities’ needs weren’t their focus.

What was the solution?

Q: What was your ideal alternative, and why?
JD: We wanted something that would give me and the Creative Team our time back.

That was only going to be achieved with a product that is much quicker and easy to use. We need a service offering that is more efficient, requires less input from us to ensure Templates remain relevant, functional and useful for users.

We hoped this would contribute towards an increase in the number of users using the system.

“It felt like RightMarket would become an extension of The Woodland Trust Team.”

Jonathan Dye
Print Production Manager

Q: Why did you choose RightMarket?
JD: Primarily it was understanding the value of RightMarket’s service offering. It was clear that it would require little maintenance from us as a project team throughout. That was a big attraction. We had 3 years of experience which showed just how important the service side of things is on these projects. We could see that this would free up our time.

It felt like RightMarket would become an extension of The Woodland Trust Team. This enticed us to seek a demonstration of the RightMarket platform and to explore the prospect of adopting it in more detail. Project Discovery was fantastic for getting a clear understanding of what we needed and what value RightMarket could offer us.

Our brief for the system was that it is quick & easy to use. It was clear that RightMarket could offer that. We’d seen live examples of how other Charities are using it. Seeing these gave us the confidence that we could now not only empower staff, but also our volunteers & supporters too – a far cry from our old system!

What have the results been for Jonathan's team?

Q. You’ve been using the RightMarket platform for 12 months. What has the main impact been for you?
JD: It’s been fantastic to take a step back after 3 years and let RightMarket’s team handle the system. I’ve been able to return my focus to other areas, and the Creative Team are seeing the time-saving benefits too!

Although RightMarket has admittedly taken up more of our budget, it has been well worth the investment. The return has been huge in terms of the time we’re saving, the increase in design output, and user satisfaction. You do get what you pay for!

We’re regularly in contact and I feel informed and involved. Project Discovery continues to be important in shaping our vision for the system, and setting expectations and targets in collaboration with RightMarket. It is evident they have thought carefully about the sector and users’ needs.

Q. What has the feedback from users been?
JD: The feedback has been amazing! Users have found it much easier to use than the web-to-print system we had. Because navigation is easier they are much more confident in getting what they need.

We worked with RightMarket to increase the versatility of the templates on the system. One template on the new system achieves the same as dozens on the old web-to-print system. That’s great for users and goes a long way to limit confusion.

Q. What are you planning next with RightMarket?
JD: Our users have had some good ideas for different templates to support different areas of the charity. Users’ needs are always changing so we’re remaining agile.

Despite the pandemic, we’re planning a big push on events next year. This will involve several new fundraising templates for our staff, volunteers & supporters.

We’re invigorated by how far we’ve come in 12 months and we’re excited for what the future holds.

Our work with RightMarket goes well beyond what we achieved with Web-to-Print. We would not have been able to cater for all of users’ needs or have the range of design available with our old solution.

If anybody would like to hear more about the differences between Web-to-Print and RightMarket, then point them in my direction.

“Our work with RightMarket goes well beyond what we achieved with Web-to-Print.”

Jonathan Dye
Print Production Manager

Time saved for The Woodland Trust

The greatest benefit for Jonathan has been the time saved. RightMarket’s comprehensive service replaces what used to be a full-time job for him. That time can be invested back into his main responsibilities. The Woodland Trust benefits from RightMarket’s extensive experience supporting the charity sector.

The charity and users’ needs are at the heart of the service and platform. RightMarket operates beyond the scope of a Web-to-Print system. The platform delivers a wide range of highly usable, adaptive templates that cater for different departments’ priorities, needs and differences.

As a satisfied customer, Jonathan recommends RightMarket as a time-efficient alternative to Web-to-Print.