Printing Impressions

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President, Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference

Connecting with Print Buyers

By Suzanne Morgan

About Suzanne

Suzanne Morgan is president of the annual Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference (www.printoasis.com) and Print Buyers Online.com, a free educational e-community for print buyers and their print suppliers (www.printbuyersonline.com). PBO has more than 11,000 members who buy $13 billion a year in printing. PBO conducts weekly research on buying trends and teaches organizations how to work more effectively with their print suppliers.

 

Dare to Be Different

By Suzanne Morgan | Posted on May 23, 2008
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With just about every printer guaranteeing competitive prices, fast turnaround times and great quality, what makes your company different from everyone else? Now more than ever, it is crucial that you stand out among your competitors. However, according to print buyers, few print suppliers clearly articulate their competitive advantage.

In a recent Quick Poll Survey by Print Buyers Online.com, we learned that 75% of major print buyers say print suppliers are ineffective in communicating meaningful differentiation from their competitors. Our survey respondents were quick to share their thoughts on the subject, many along the lines of the following:

”Print Sales folks seem to all have learned from the same textbook. They are stuck on the ‘we pride ourselves in giving the best service, quality and prices—just give us a chance and we’ll prove it to you’ message (or variations thereof). Ask them to describe how they are different from everyone else, and they’ll list a bunch of customers who vouch for them. Funny how the same companies seem to show up on almost every list! Their idea of explaining how they are different seems to consist of expecting me to give them some work so I can find out for myself.”

”They all have ‘great service’, ‘great in-house support’, ‘fast turnaround’ and the ‘latest prep and press equipment’...it is really difficult to tell a difference.”

Just because it is obvious to you what makes your company special, there is no guarantee this information is transparent to the public. What steps are you taking to make sure your services stand out above the rest? Post a Comment below.

Industry Centers:
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COMMENTS

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Most Recent Comments:
Chris - Posted on September 22, 2008
I work for a smaller printer and the way I generally space myself away from my competitors is the clients I go for. We specialize in short to medium runs and have a variety printing solutions. We can do offset or digital. We also have a fully service bindery offering perfect bound and saddle stitch among others. Having everything done in house and having our own trucks means that every aspect of the job is under our control. Giving our customers the peace of mind that once and order is placed that it will be completed quickly and cost effectively. Of course we let our quality speak for itself. We are Chicago based and majority of our customers are Non-Profit or Associations. The ability to have a one stop shop that has their own speedie delivery is why most of our customers like working with us. As well since majority of our clients are in the same field so to speak, we know and understand the types of problems those print buyers face, and supply them with effective solutions based on our own personal successes.
Nick - Posted on June 06, 2008
A printing company either has to be very special in its area or provide a broadest spectrum of printing services as possible. To be very special, such as 3D printing or check book/NCR form printing, you gain advantage by lowering overheads, improving quality consistency and turnaround time. To be broadest supplier, you provide more services to clients, utilizing manpower more efficiently, reducing shipping and procurement cost. However, no printer may provide all printing services. Collaborating with specialized printers is necessary to satisfy your customers with high quality prints at low cost. In this way, all parties, your customer, you and your subcontractors benefit. The goal is to improve profit margin to sustain the operation in long run. Either specialization or generalization, one way to take in order to be different.
Harvey - Posted on May 30, 2008
Everybody in any industry just follows the leader hoping to receive their share. Very little innovation takes place and when it does the small fish tend to knock off the innovator. They say "Think out of the box" but if you don't know how big the box is how can you think out of it? Small business will become the spark plug for innovation over the next decade as the big iron manufacturers try to push their technology on a steadily shrinking market.
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Archived Comments:
Chris - Posted on September 22, 2008
I work for a smaller printer and the way I generally space myself away from my competitors is the clients I go for. We specialize in short to medium runs and have a variety printing solutions. We can do offset or digital. We also have a fully service bindery offering perfect bound and saddle stitch among others. Having everything done in house and having our own trucks means that every aspect of the job is under our control. Giving our customers the peace of mind that once and order is placed that it will be completed quickly and cost effectively. Of course we let our quality speak for itself. We are Chicago based and majority of our customers are Non-Profit or Associations. The ability to have a one stop shop that has their own speedie delivery is why most of our customers like working with us. As well since majority of our clients are in the same field so to speak, we know and understand the types of problems those print buyers face, and supply them with effective solutions based on our own personal successes.
Nick - Posted on June 06, 2008
A printing company either has to be very special in its area or provide a broadest spectrum of printing services as possible. To be very special, such as 3D printing or check book/NCR form printing, you gain advantage by lowering overheads, improving quality consistency and turnaround time. To be broadest supplier, you provide more services to clients, utilizing manpower more efficiently, reducing shipping and procurement cost. However, no printer may provide all printing services. Collaborating with specialized printers is necessary to satisfy your customers with high quality prints at low cost. In this way, all parties, your customer, you and your subcontractors benefit. The goal is to improve profit margin to sustain the operation in long run. Either specialization or generalization, one way to take in order to be different.
Harvey - Posted on May 30, 2008
Everybody in any industry just follows the leader hoping to receive their share. Very little innovation takes place and when it does the small fish tend to knock off the innovator. They say "Think out of the box" but if you don't know how big the box is how can you think out of it? Small business will become the spark plug for innovation over the next decade as the big iron manufacturers try to push their technology on a steadily shrinking market.