Greetings Citizens of the Printerverse!
As promised in my post last month I will be rolling out results from my 2017 Print Buyer Survey. The survey background info can be found here. If you haven’t read it please do that first, then come back to this post to absorb the information in context. Normally I would put a bit of distance between 2017 survey results posts, but a recent real-world experience makes this subject matter poignant and topical.
Here we go!!!!
It is always good to know WHY buyers choose the print service providers they work with, especially the customers from the big agencies and brands I surveyed… so I asked:
The Result: An OVERWHELMING 84% of respondents have no interest in anything you do besides printing.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to the printers who call on agencies and brands. However if you are still thinking that transforming your business to “Marketing Service Provider” (MSP) or dropping PRINT from your company name will open those doors, think again.
As a Print Buyerologist who comes from the agency world I have always had issues with the MSP thing. I have not found most printers to be very skilled at marketing themselves, which does set realistic expectations for their ability to help others. Regarding the MSP movement, the “Industry” has a vested interest to help itself stick around. If there is less print volume, offering additional non-print services to keep money coming in makes sense, in theory. In some cases the MSP model has been executed correctly and has helped print businesses expand offerings and open new revenue channels. For the majority of printers who don’t have the financial and/or personnel resources and correct partners to execute the MSP model, good news is the big brands and big agencies are fine with you being printers! Amen!
Bringing it Back to Basics…
Last week I fired a company contracted to help me with SEO and a few additional services after a month of ineptitude and unprofessionalism that hit a new level for me. It relates here because they have SEO in their company name. THAT is their specialty and in the big picture they delivered on this. When it came to the additional services and managing them proactively, that is when all hell broke lose. They were not equipped – despite convincing me in a 2hr face-to-face meeting that they were – to handle the other work. It all came crashing down; I’m not getting over being fooled by their promises and subjected to cleaning up their mess anytime soon.
Now imagine if that was my experience with a printer. I would make sure everyone knew to stay away from them. And by the way… this happens all the time when buyers ask each other for resources in the secret ways we do. I can tell you (and often do) that how you handle a crisis is valued 20000x more than anything else. Not delivering on promises/expectations… consider yourself done.
While my experience with the SEO company was horrific, I hope it will serve a greater purpose as a lesson to the print providers out there: Stick to what you know!
If you are a printer – celebrate it! Share your craft with the world, show-off your amazing work and customers. Educate your community (through applications) on the projects you can help them create. Submit for awards; participate as thought-leaders on webinars, panels, and at events. Get KNOWN for what you do.
For services beyond printing: SQUAD UP as I suggested in my 2017 CMYK Manifesto. Bring experts in their field to your service menu. Get KNOWN for having amazing partners and being an amazing resource for your customers.
The moral of my story is to acknowledge you cannot be everything, to everyone. To the big brands and ad agencies they are perfectly happy loving printers for exactly who they are!
More survey result posts to follow… please subscribe to PMC’s News from The Printerverse for once a month PRINTSPIRATION… and to see them first!
Deborah Corn is the Intergalactic Ambassador to The Printerverse at PrintMediaCentr, a Print Buyerologist™, Integrated Marketer, Industry Speaker and Blogger, Cultivator of the Print Production Professionals Group, the #1 Print Group on LinkedIn, and host of #PrintChat, a weekly industry gathering on Twitter every Wednesday at 4PM ET. She has more than 25 years experience working in advertising and marketing, and currently works behind the scenes with printers, suppliers and industry organizations helping them to achieve success with their social media marketing endeavors, and meaningful relationships with customers.
Connect with Deborah: Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Pinterest / Print Production Professionals Group / deborah@printmediacentr.com
18 Responses
It is not surprising that 85% of buyers stated that.
A print provider that see and understands himself to be one of many media options for consumers to consume and share is awesome and appropriate. Most printers now have the technology to influence buyer behavior across multiple touch points.
But to no ones surprise, only about 10-15% have a darn clue of what they are doing and the rest fail.
If you dont bring value for a service you provide, your client will not ask for it from you again.
100% of the print buyers I have worked with were thrilled at the opportunity of being helped through the digital innovation.
In time, there will be but one salesperson handling the full output of content from Print to all business and social media outlets
Interesting perspective, Deborah. I agree about sticking to your core business. Diversifying can be good if you are able to execute. I am not saying that printers should also provide services relating to internet marketing, but why not include some related services in your offering.
Graphic design is one area that comes to mind, as does mailing and distribution. As long as they are closely aligned with the core business, printing, many buyers may appreciate the opportunity to use one partner as opposed to multiple ones.
But, if you are short on execution in every phase, you are better off staying away.
Cheers,
Marc
Marc — I agree with you in theory, with a lot of if’s, but’s and however’s tossed in. The big one being that the survey results apply to a specific group of buyers, and in this case design is already included in services they offer, using your example. Still PLENTY of room for services they don’t offer, and yes one stop shopping is the best approach… with the if’s, but’s and however’s included in that 🙂
This is refreshing to read.
Too many small companies losing sight of what they do best and trying to get involved in operations they know nothing about such as mailing, pick and pack and storage. Leave things you don’t know about to the experts who do.
Thanks for the comment… totally agree. Do what you do best, find amazing partners for the rest! 🙂
Good points that printers can not be everything.
If a client asks me to do price something that
we can not produce in house I inform them that
we work with great partners in the industry and
I can get it done for them. We hardly ever say no.
Promotional products, die cutting, large format.
Great survey and article Deborah. #HelpPrintThrive
Well done, that’s totally my point of view!
We love this blog Deborah! Thanks for the inspiration
Very intersting study Deborah, While I agree in principal with the study, my personal experience and that of the print providers I called clients,the opposite has been true. I think part of the equation is the print providers relationship and how they are viewed by their client and prospects. Keep up the good work!
Thank for your sharing!
I’m working as printing company and your information useful to me. Some point I agree with our customers, they don’t care what will we do, they just care about time, price, quality…
Love your blog.
What additional services beyond printing have the “printers you called clients” provided to ad agencies and brands? And when? I conducted this survey late December 2016.
Although this is something I’ve felt in my heart of hearts for some time and have seen in my consulting business, I think there is a happy medium for most printers. I don’t think they need to change their names (do you only go to drug stores for prescription drugs?), but some services make more sense than others- web-to-print portals, fulfillment, digital editions, augmented reality, etc. And I wouldn’t rule out acquisitions of boutique digital companies that offer stronger expertise than many home-grown services and enable a better omnichannel offering.
Thanks for the comment – and HI LARRY!!!
Well done. I completely agree with you. As a consultant, I have found too many printers who change their name, print a new brochure, and pretend to be a marketing expert. They fail to hire the expertise, train their staffs, or invest in the software required. Because the printer has printed material for marketing companies and ad agencies, they think “we is one too.” Most of those saying they are MSPs aren’t even marketing their own company. Printers are outstanding technicians, but most are weak on the creative and copywriting side. I agree that printers need to add good outside partners to their team to make it work. A printer can make money in this business if they understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Amen John 🙂
As an press operator, I have one request: please be sure to double check your agency copy before submitting if all you want from the printer is to print. After 20 years of design/layout there is nothing more embarrassing that a pressman catching my typo.
Great point… and YAY #GirlsWhoPrint!!!