Business Management - Marketing/Sales

Experts have indicated that it can cost as much as five to eight times more to acquire a new customer than to retain and grow an existing one.

As companies reshape their marketing strategies to embrace newer media—at the expense of print—their need for employees who only specialize in sourcing print will shrink.

Since commercial print quality is more or less the same anywhere you go today, I suggest that printing firms find ways to add value to their client experiences, in ways large (ancillary services) and small (be personable).

Statistics say that 85% of printers have flat or declining sales. They are struggling to sell to customers whose volumes are down. They can’t get in to see decision makers at potential new clients because they are not seen as any different to the existing supplier. They can’t find new work without discounting their prices.

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Despite prevalence of digital media, entrepreneurs find old fashioned direct mailings still key to winning customers. Looking to cut costs amid the recession, Alicia Settle initially thought it would be a good idea to eliminate her company's annual direct mailing.

Catalog industry insiders only see a modest uptick this year over last; further shift from print and store to digital inevitable.

Printing as we know it is declining, but hot new applications and markets should maintain our $200 billion revenue base in real terms. Only three sectors within the top 25 will expand buys robustly at greater than 8 percent.

Is cross-media services variable data digital printing, sprinkled with personalized URLs (pURLs), microsites, e-mail campaigns or video? Sure.

As we start the new year, I want to talk a bit about QR codes. Some industry pundits think QR codes will make PURLs obsolete; others are touting the ability to combine the two ideas.

This is a column about the ugly, evil and dreaded affliction known as distraction. As your beloved Mañana Man, I have pioneered the research and practice of losing my way and taking disruptive and bewildering side roads to nowhere.