Is this how a printer in 2009 thinks he can impress a prospect? Not only did he mumble, making me strain to understand the company name as well as his own, but then he did something so lame that I almost felt sorry for the guy.
I like to think of myself as a lifeline for buyers to the print industry — and vice versa. There are bridges to be built and information to be shared. . . on both ‘sides.’ That, in a nutshell, is what I am all about.
What’s the first thing a print buyer does when considering a new print supplier today? The answer, of course, is to Google them. Obviously, being listed on online search engines is directly related to the amount of traffic your website generates. The higher your website ranks on a search engine, the greater the chances a potential lead will click through to view your content. As you are probably aware, search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN use algorithms that web crawlers use to rank pages, and savvy printers know how to take advantage of the system.
Print Buyers Online.com recently asked our print supplier members, “What are your projections regarding client orders for the first and second quarter of 2009?” While our initial polling showed that print suppliers are evenly split over whether their client orders will decrease or remain constant, there is an interesting perspective from the 9% that believe there will be an increase in print projects.
The Lacey Act, a 100 year-old law that prohibits trafficking in illegal wildlife, was amended this year to protect a broader range of plant products, specifically addressing illegal logging. Through the revision, the United States became the first country in the world to ban the importation, exportation and sale of illegally-sourced wood products.
At last month’s GRAPH EXPO 2008, I did a “2008 Print Buying Trends” presentation at Heidelberg’s Print Media Academy. One of the many topics I covered was sustainability and how the best print suppliers are not only going green, but are actively promoting their efforts to their customers and prospects. I was surprised to learn that many solution providers are doing the right things, but they aren’t marketing their programs and progress. How are print buyers going to know that you are eco-friendly if you don’t tell them?
With increased fuel prices and the current nature of the U.S. economy, both print buyers and suppliers alike are experiencing ramifications. In September, Print Buyers Online.com asked our major print buyer members, “By what percentage has the prices of your print projects increased in 2008 (due to paper, energy, transportation or other costs)?” Cost increases of over 7% were reported by 35% of the print buyers who responded.
You’ve heard me say it before; gone are the days of the passive print buyer. They are no longer sitting back and waiting for print reps to cold call them or invite them to lunch. Today, consumers are proactive. They research their options. And the advancement of the World Wide Web has enabled them to spread a much larger net, capturing information on potential suppliers well beyond the area of their zip codes or states.
At Print Buyers Online.com, there are certain Quick Poll questions that we ask once a year to see if there are significant sea changes among our members. One of these polls is “Would you go to lunch with a sales rep from a printing company that you have not yet given work?”
This year, 70% of our major print buyers said, “No, I’m generally not comfortable with that.” This caught our attention because for the previous three years, the numbers had remained steady at around 60%. What’s with the drop? Do print buyers just not “do lunch” anymore? Let’s delve
From the buyer’s perspective, there are pros and cons in working with a mega printer (a printer that represents $500 million or more in sales volume). Print Buyers Online.com’s (www.printbuyersonline.com) major print buyer members, of whom 60% give business to mega printers, recently shared their thoughts on the subject. Here are some of the reasons why buyers consider it an advantage to work with mega printers:
“We work with one of them on a large project where they do the production and printing of a catalog. They have handled it very well and have the resources for that kind of project whereas smaller printers don’t.”
