I'll break this down in order to best describe exactly what I'm talking about.

Knowing what's been done:

The first element of marketing has to do with research. You need to know what people want in both the advertising and the message the advertising sends. How can you effectively get your commercial printing done if you don't know the best thing to print?

This might deal with looking at what you're company has had success with in the past, or it might deal with looking at other businesses in your industry to see what they're doing well in. If brochures work well for your customer base, then be sure you're aware of it and start breaking out those brochures.

Never start on anything until you know what has already worked.

What needs to be done right away:

Upcoming sales or spur of the moment discounts need to be taken care of immediately with little room for planning. A lot of marketing deals with the moment and things happening right away. You won't always have the luxury of planning a lot when a surprise comes around the corner. That's why you should be quick on your feet and ready to shift your plans at a moments notice.

If you set up a good system for your marketing you'll be able to shift gears smoothly without causing much trouble, and be sure you'll always stay on top of any unexpected aspects of your marketing.

Knowing what's coming next:

Following the previous point, always plan whenever possible. You might need to be prepared for when lightening strikes, but also plan for the things you know are going to happen. Most companies have advertising pushes around the holidays, and those holidays aren't exactly changing from year to year, so make sure you stay on top of things by planning out whatever you can in advance.

That way you can get the biggest orders of commercial printing done at once as possible, saving you printing costs. You also free yourself up for when the surprises do happen, because everything else is already taken care of.

Even if you can't get all of the actual printing done really early, you can still start planning out the designs and other key aspects of the marketing push. Know what the specials will be, or what images you're going to want with your marketing. There are all sorts of different things you can take care of well in advance.

If you're sure to follow these three things, you can be sure that you're marketing will be as smooth and effective as possible.