Research shows there are many reasons why one printer is more successful than another.
Growth and profitability improvement can come from better management, selling skills, control of costs,
overheads, efficiency in production, or a
focus on customer service.
 Carving out a niche certainly helps too, as is the offering of 'non-print' services.
A financial summary of where Printshops spend their income is shown right. Note
this chart isn't the latest. Net profits today are somewhat lower, as our
support expenses continue to climb with the advent and demand for short-run printing.
Basically, successful printshops focus on several key areas: Marketing, selling
skills, cost control, customer service and the services offered. Contrary to popular belief, for the modern printshop, production methods and pressroom technologies used are not determining factors.
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Certainly good marketing and selling skills are important, especially for Printers going
after high value, high volume accounts. Surveys tells us that companies
with highly skilled, proactive
salespeople can generally gain a 20-30% sales benefit and bottom line
over their competitors.
- Growing Printers also integrate new-age sales tools
like eCommerce, web-to-print, MIS etc. Just because older, existing customers 'aren't asking for it' doesn't mean you don't need it to move forward. These tools not only attract new clients, but can drastically reduce sales and support overhead costs. (Case study)
But the new industry standard for super-efficiency in this area is Vistaprint. They boast each job now requires just 60 seconds human involvement when the rest of industry takes 40-60 minutes! Their eCommerce web sites, MIS and automated workflows have eliminated around $80 in cost per order, mostly in the tricky 'support expense' area - This means taking on thousands of small business $50-$200 orders just became easier and highly profitable. That's why they're the fastest growing printer on earth...
- However it's not just about skills or reducing costs. With print volumes declining worldwide, alternative sources of income must be found too. i.e. Introduce new services. Salespeople need to be able to offer more than just ink on paper to get into new accounts or markets.
This is the 'added value' arena. Our famous Dr Joe videos and our section on New Media will cover the major trends and breakthroughs. Each week we'll add an article or
commentary on what others are doing in this area and perhaps you'll
discover where the real money is.
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