Print Buyers Online.com recently asked our print buyer members, “How important is the brand of printing press/equipment in the production of your jobs?” Of the 72 print buyers who participated in the Quick Poll Survey:
• 6% said it was “very important”
• 44% said it was “somewhat important”
• 49% said it was “not important at all”
• 1% said “I don’t know”
I found these results very interesting as 50% of major print buyers now deem the brand of equipment to be important. This is a 20% increase from two years ago, when we last asked this question. The results of
Created by the major printer associations, the “Terms and Conditions for Sale” document has been setting the stage for business standards between print suppliers and print buyers for decades. The document was originally created to decrease the number of misunderstandings between the two parties, but is now viewed as archaic in the minds of many print industry experts.
A while ago, we wrote an article entitled, “Why the Printing Industry’s Terms and Conditions for Sale Are Effectively Dead.” It’s pretty clear how we feel about the issue, just look at the title and you know we think the document no longer serves a
THANK GOD I didn’t help the man in the letter below. My bride, Attila the Nun, will tell you if I offer to help you, you should do something to distract me, and then run like hell.
I have just returned from hosting our annual Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference at Amelia Island Plantation in Florida. One of the most popular events was our Exhibit Hall, which featured more than 60 major printing companies and print suppliers. I took note of which booths seemed to be the most popular:
Hit the Ground Running: Before the conference, we provided an attendee mailing list to the exhibitors who requested it. The most successful exhibitors sent out a pre-show promotion inviting attendees to stop by their booth. This definitely increased brand recognition for those who took the time to design a thoughtful and dynamic promotion.
Offer
Last week’s Quick Poll at PrintBuyersOnline.com yielded some very interesting conclusions. . .from what was said, and what was left unsaid. We asked our print buyer membership how likely they would be to purchase printing from suppliers located overseas (or outside their country of operation). An overwhelming majority, 80%, said it was “not at all likely” and only 12% replied it was “somewhat likely.”
We turned the tables on our print supplier members and asked them if they had lost any business to print suppliers located outside the country. 45% said “none that they knew of” and not one print supplier said it
One of our print buyer members recently stated, “Maybe I’m getting old, but the sales people knocking on my door are getting younger and younger AND less knowledgeable about printing. When I recently asked a sales rep what sheet size they were running, his response was, ‘we have really big presses.’” This comment was in response to a Print Buyers Online.com recent Quick Poll survey in which 66% of print buyers stated, “it is very important to have solid knowledge of different types of printing equipment.”
In August, we learned 76% of print buyers believe printers’ equipment lists can be very useful in
SOUTHWEST Airlines, in a daring parody on the current Major League Baseball steroid scandal, is running a series of television commercials featuring Nick Pudder, the winner of the Annual Productivity Award: APA ’07. Nick’s fellow office workers are resentful of his special parking spot, his private corner office, his much greater compensation and the boss’ recognition.
Nick is so productive that his dysfunctional non-believer co-workers accuse him of taking “productivity enhancers.” It’s obviously some mysterious potion that is a “steroid for the brain.”
Southwest, naturally, uses Nick’s productivity story on their Website at www.southwest.com . Go there, and you can watch the video, which is funnier
In a Print Buyers Online Quick Poll Survey last month, we asked major print buyers, “How much net profit do you believe the average printing company makes?” You might be surprised by the results. Of the 82 survey participants:
1% of print buyers said “Over 60% net profit”
29% of print buyers said “About 25% net profit”
49% of print buyers said “7-12% net profit”
21% of print buyers said “1-3% net profit”
As you may know, industry studies have consistently shown the average printer’s net profit is between 1-3%. (If your company is in double digits, congratulations; you are ahead of the game.) According to our survey, almost
The dawn of a new year always serves as a time of great personal reflection for me. Every January 1st, I close the office and take a personal day to ensure all of the aspects in my life are in alignment—and the image I am projecting is truly representative of who I am. I want people to know they can trust I am who I say I am—and understand what they see is what they get. This ensures expectations are fulfilled in both personal and professional relationships—and it frees up so much energy!
I believe it is crucial that print companies and
I HEAR from a lot of print sales professionals. The calls are from underachievers, overachievers and the mediocre folks in the middle.
The underachievers and the mediocre achievers want to become overachievers. Lately, I’m getting e-mail and phone calls from overachievers who seek an escape to mediocrity. They say overachievement is too much pressure. I’ll explain.
Overachievers are in the top tax bracket. The sons and daughters of overachievers want new cars, the latest fashions, monogrammed iPods and their own credit cards. Their spouses want club memberships, BMWs and million-dollar-plus homes.
The overachievers’ bosses are forever demanding more, more, more! The bosses lean on the
