The Post Office Really Can Help

Mailing is a profit center for many printers and the U.S. Postal Service really is trying to make mailing easier and more profitable for printers.  To help, USPS has revamped its online magazine for marketers Website to Deliver. The new “how-to” website at www.delivermagazine.com offers all the direct mail and multichannel marketing strategy content of Deliver.

Delivermagazine.com provides direct marketers and agency professionals with scores of articles, case studies, white papers and online marketing tools to help them grow their businesses through acquisition, retention and brand-building. Delivermagazine.com features the latest research, news and commentary for the direct marketing industry. Article topics include brand marketing, prospecting and green marketing, among other direct marketing strategies.

The site also includes an array of online marketing tools, including a “Direct Marketing 101” series that teaches the basics of an effective marketing strategy, helping marketers make smart use of their resources. “Resource Wizard” helps users search for articles based on business size and marketing needs and includes information on using the Intelligent Mail Barcode. 

If you want to make mailing more profitable, check out what the USPS has to offer. They really do seem to be trying to help. 

Price Pressures Continue To Grow

A visit to the grocery store or gas pumps lets us know how quickly prices can change. Pricing are going up quickly and not just for consumers. Printing companies are seeing their costs rise. The question is whether or not printers will react and raise prices or eat the rising costs and suffer the consequences.

I'm continuing to get calls from printers who are complaining that their competitors are “giving work away.” They say they are forced into price wars because a few low-ball printers are messing up the market for everyone and making customers expect to get lower prices.

I can’t agree. Printers are notorious for being poor sales people. Most just wait for customers to call and then react by giving a price. Since studies show that most customers don’t have more than three vendors for any product or service, it is hard to believe that customers are getting that much pricing information to put pressure on a specific market. I can’t believe that print prices are the topic of conversation between business people over lunch or that some printer is actively calling on customers promising the lowest market price.

What I believe is happening is that all customers are looking for the best deal possible and are asking “is this your best price?” Price is only one of the considerations a customer has when selecting a printer, but printers think that since the customer asked the question, then price must be foremost in the decision.
There is always going to be a customer who only goes for the cheapest prices. There are always going to be printers who will do the job below costs just to have work for their employees. The best way to combat this is to get out of the shop, make sales calls, and build a customer base that will pay a fair price for your products and services.

Tom Crouser recently posted a video at his website at www.crouser.com that discusses how lowering your price doesn’t get you additional business or profits. The 18-minute video will help expose some of the myths about pricing and perhaps, keep printers from cutting their price just to get the job.

Printers have to raise prices. The cost pressures are increasing and to delay passing on price increases is unfair to printers and their employees. Printers are in business to make money. There is nothing wrong with asking customers to pay a fair price.

Finding PDF Answers Is Getting Easier

Ever have a questions about how to do something with a PDF file? A new web-based resource from Planet PDF will answer specific question about using PDF files.

The website provides answers about how to perform certain tasks, how to fix annoying problems or even which tools your peers recommend for your PDF-related projects. According to the creators, the primary goal behind the Planet PDF Q&A platform is to get the best possible answers to every answerable PDF question out there.

The prepress department in your shop will want to bookmark http://qa.planetpdf.com/. 

Learning Bindery Online

Every single facet of the printing industry is affected by the Internet – even bindery. Bindery is still a semi-automatic and manual function in most shops and the skill sets needed by an employee are specific. For most shops, training bindery workers is a time consuming task.

The Internet is making it easier. YouTube.com has a number of online videos that demonstrate different bindery tasks and offer the best practices. One in particular that caught my attention was FoldFactory.com.

Trish Witkowski, a graphic designer who says she has “a passion for folding,’ has created a website that offers video instructions about different folds, how to create and produce them in a production environment. Trish has a specialized expertise in the area of folding and finishing and is the creator of the FOLDRite brochure folding system.

Visit her site at http://www.foldfactory.com/ and learn about the best practices in folding and finishing. She even provides a free weekly email with a video on the “60-second Super-cool Fold of the Week.”

YouTube is a great source of training for the quick and small commercial printer and should be a regular stop when trying to find answers to production questions.

Are Printers Going To Lose Out Again?

Are printers going to let someone else make money off a cool communication idea and just sit around waiting to compete for the printing? It seems so as we see new social media support companies popping up around the country to handle the social media mechanics for businesses. These companies are charging premium fees and handling the print buying for their clients because print is important to use when creating followers and fans.

Why can’t printers offer social media services too? They already work with customers in creating and distributing the customer’s message with print. They know how to manage a customer’s printed brand. Why not use those same skills to help customers with their social media?
The printing industry has let this happen before. Graphic designers and ad agencies sell the print buying customer the perceived value part of a project (idea, design, concept, etc.) and leave printers to compete on price and service for the printing portion. Printers can do just as good work, but customers don’t think about printers when getting graphic design.


The same thing happened with PURLs. PODi, the organization that helps set strategic direction in the digital print industry, reported that on many PURL (personal URL) projects, printing costs made up only 10% of the total selling price. The people selling the idea to the customer took the other 90%. Printing became the commodity product in the mix. Someone else sold the value of the project to the customer and left the printer to compete for what was left.

The same thing could happen with social media unless printers get in front of the curve. Printers need to learn and use social media to increase their own sales as well as learn the mechanics so they can do social media services for their customers. It isn’t hard. It doesn’t require a major equipment investment. It is an opportunity that the printing industry shouldn’t let slip through its fingers.

Beyond QR Codes

You may have started noticing more and more QR (Quick Response) codes popping up around you. Since I started talking about QR codes more than two years ago, the little squares have gone mainstream in the U.S. This trend is expected to continue as more people purchase smart phones with the ability to read the codes. Many printers are reporting that the topic of QR codes helps them get past the gatekeeper and get  in front of a different type of print buyer.

Now that you can recognize a QR code, you need start watching for the new AR codes. AR code or Augmented Reality code allows a viewer to see a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated sensory input such as sound or graphics. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.

If the AR code is viewed through a smart phone or computer-connected camera, the viewer sees something different. A business card becomes a three-dimensional object. A street can have an overlay of digital information over the scene that allows the user to find out more about what he is seeing. Characters and scenes can rise out of the pages of a children’s story book and dance across the pages. The possibilities are endless.

Youtube.com has hundreds of visual examples of AR code applications. Just search for Augmented Reality. For some quick examples of iPhone applications for AR, visit http://www.iphoneness.com/iphone-apps/best-augmented-reality-iphone-applications/. You may even have seen the new Hallmark card television ads for their new AR cards.

AR codes aren't as common as QR codes, but printers should start learning how to create them. They require special software, but they could be another way to make a printer different from his competitors.

If you are a printer or designer and haven't exposed your customers to QR codes, you are doing them a disservice. Any business with an Internet presence needs to be linking the Internet world with the print world. QR codes are easy to create. Printers should also be linking their own web information to any printed material they use to promote the printing company.

If you want to be the printing known for his technological know-how, then make sure you are getting customers to use QR codes on their printed marketing material.

Communication Stereotypes Must Be Broken

Printers need to think about breaking down their stereotype thinking about the best way to communicate. As a "communications expert," you are going to have to help customers decide what is the best way to broadcast their message. Printers must be able to integrate print, Internet and social media message if they want to help their customer get the greatest message reach.

No one generation limits their communication opportunities. Young or old, people are adapting to the media that best serves their needs. This means a 20-something may prefer print and a 60-something may want emails. It just depends on the individual.

Statistics are backing up that age is the primary factor. If you think it is all about the Internet with young people, you are wrong. North American consumers aged 18-34 year-old prefer to learn about marketing offers via postal mail and newspapers rather than online sources such as social media platforms, according to survey from ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting.

Young adults say they prefer direct mail and newspaper advertising over online marketing in every instance except travel. Postal mail has a higher degree of trust for respondents in all age brackets: 36% of respondents in 2010 said information is more private if sent through the mail vs. email or online, up from 29% in 2008.

If you think social media is for the young, then you will be surprised to learn that one of the fastest growing segments of Facebook is women over the age of 55.

What this points out is that when you have a message to communicate you will want to use several different methods to get it out. Today's printing companies will have to focus on the message. Social media and the Internet become just another output device similiar to a press or digital printer. It allows you to duplicate the message and transmit to many.

Printers will need to embrace the new media or find themselves fighting for a smaller portion of the communication market.

Can You Create an Ebook?

If you are a printer, do you know all the ways a customer will be using the information you print for them? There are more communication channels that print and you might be able to reformat and repurpose the same information for other uses and make more money on the job.

If you use InDesign 4 or above, you can save files so they can be read by ebook readers. Adobe offers step-by-step instructions for setting up ebook documents and exporting the file into the open EPUB ebook format. This format can be read on desktop reading applications, smartphones, and dedicated reading devices. You can learn how to do the formatting by visiting http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/epub/howto/.

Even the big printers know they have to deal with other communication channels by reformatting their work. Quad/Graphics just announced it is getting into the Apple software business. With the Quad/Graphics Digital Edition platform magazines, catalogs and retail advertising can now be published for the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. According to the company, the solution gives Quad/Graphics' clients the ability to distribute content by print and mail, digital edition and branded Apple apps.

Quad/Graphics will provide its customers with a client-branded iPad application, developed by ePublishing partner YUDU Media. These apps are made available online at the Apple store, where the printer's clients can offer them for free or set their own sale price.

I expect to see these type of services available for quick and small commercial printers in the future.

Charity Begins at Home

A recent printer’s email was lamenting the fact that non-profit organizations were always beating on him to lower his prices. He was complaining that because they were “non-profit” he felt obligated to provide a lower price because they weren’t in the business to make money.

I have to disagree. Being a non-profit organization means that an organization does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals. The organization is also exempt from paying some local, state and federal taxes. It doesn’t mean the organization is poor or that its employees work for free.

In a new book entitled Death to the BCS, the author studied tax records of bowl organization for college football’s end of the season wrap up and found that nearly two dozen bowl directors earned more that $300,000 a year. Most of these organizations are non-profit organizations. I wonder how many printers “donated” printing to their local bowl game?

Of course, there are some organizations that work with volunteers and need the community support from local businesses to do their good deeds, but too many printers believe that any organization that is non-profit has to get a special deal.

It is easy to find out if a non-profit organization really needs help. Most state governments keep records about non-profit groups that show how much money and services really make it to the cause in need. You can also check out legitimate organizations at http://www.guidestar.org./ The Guidestar site gathers and publicizes information about nonprofit organizations. Visitors to the site can even access an organization’s IRS Form 990. This is an annual reporting return that certain federally tax-exempt organizations must file with the IRS. It provides information on the filing organization's mission, programs, and finances. You can even find out how much the organization spent on printing for that tax year.

Discounting is just another way to avoid having to do the hard work of getting out and talking to customers and asking for the order. Discounting might be a selling strategy if the printer was making money and could afford it.

One of the main reasons that printers are going out of business is that they don’t charge enough. I see print owners working 60 to 70 hours a week and still not making any money. They use price as their selling tool and figure the only way to get new business is to be the cheapest vendor.

Non-profit organizations can be top customers for printers. If you are going to discount to a non-profit organization, make sure you still make a profit. A non-profit organization can provide enough printing on a regular basis that a printer could adjust prices because of the large volume of steady work.

If you are going to discount to a non-profit organization, make sure there is something in it for you. You can offer a lower price if the non-profit organization will guarantee a certain sales volume or a certain volume of work.. Don’t lower your price unless the customers is going to give you something in return.

I recommend that every printer be a good neighbor and help sharable organizations when they can. But remember, charity begins at home and we can’t help our neighbors if our house isn’t in order.

The Truth About Print and the Environment

Printers are battling the misconceptions that printing is bad for the environment. A Youtube.com video from Millcraft Paper provides some very powerful information to raise awareness about the business and environmental benefits of print as an effective marketing communications channel. The campaign aims to dispel the myths and misperceptions that paper and print marketing campaigns are harmful to the environment. Paper and print provide a sustainable means of communication and are an effective medium in a multi-channel marketing campaign.

Besides using the facts raised in the video in your sales presentations, you can also combine the video with a QR code to promote the fact you are “green.” We’re learning that videos have a tremendous impact with used with mobile marketing. The QR code could be included in your newsletter and on post cards.

You can find out more about the “Do you know the facts?” campaign at http://doyouknowthefacts.com/. You can view the Youtube video at http://tinyurl.com/23e4w86.


The topic would also be a good excuse to contact your local environment reporter for the local newspaper. The video raises interesting facts that would make for an interesting news story for the general public. The local reporter could use the facts and interview you for the local angle.

Printers Should Let Light Shine Socially

Keeping up with social media is tough. Between onsite visits to help printing companies prosper and use the new technology, researching how to use all the new tools, and writing about them, I try to keep up with my blogs, twitter posts, LinkedIn discussions, and Facebook visits. If you are sticking your toe into the social media pool, then you know what I mean when I say that “it is hard.”


My problem is time, but for most printers I talk to, their problem is content. Printers continually tell me they don’t know what to post on the various social media vehicles. A number of printers think that just posting on social media will make them look “needy” and like they are “begging” for work. They cannot separate sales messages from valuable information.

I tell them to keep it simple. What would you want to say to your customers if you were face to face? What information would you want to put in a customer’s hand that would make print buying easier for them? What would you want to train a customer to do correctly to make production easier?

I think any printer who can come up with answers to those questions will have hundreds of topics. Got a link that tells the difference between CMYK and RGB? Have a link that tells a person how to get the best photo from their digital camera? Have a source for online training for Publisher or InDesign that you would like to share? Any of these topics would be of interest to customer s and make you look like the printing expert you are if you would only share them through social media.

But too many printers hide their light under a basket. They don’t realize that sharing information will create a bond with customers that will lead to more sales. They think that offering unsolicited advice is too much like asking for a sale. They rather customers come to them and ask questions.

Customers aren’t going to buy from you unless you ask for the order. Customers won’t order unless they feel comfortable that they are dealing with a professional. You can become the local expert by using social media tools and your website properly.

If you can’t come up with content, it is because you are not out talking to customers. Once you find out what customers need by making a sales calls, you will have enough content to keep your blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts active for months.

Printers Need To Raise Prices

It is amazing the pricing strategies that some printing companies use to gain new business. One strategy that has been around for ages is to offer discounts for first time buyers to show prospects the quality and service they can receive if they were to become a regular customer. The discount might get the job the first time, but it doesn’t guarantee you will get the next job at the higher price. You just trained your customer that you are willing to give lower prices.

I suggest another tactic you can use with a new customer, especially if creative design is involved, is to raise your regular price 10 to 15 percent. This allows you to test your pricing structure and make sure you aren’t leaving money on the table. Printers create custom work. In the case of most custom manufacturing, the price goes up when the customer selects a manufacturer that provides better service and quality.

The primary reason that most printers are attracted to discounts and low price selling is that it replaces the best way to sell printing. The best way to sell is to get in front of the customer and ask for an order. The reason aso many printers are failing is that they hope that customers will call, ask for a price, and then buy because it is the lowest price they have found. There is too much competition to just sit back and wait for customers to call and then hope a low price will attract them to buy.
The only printers being really successful with that strategy are the low cost producers who maintain their margins by using production efficiencies and keeping sales costs low by selling over the Internet. The typical printer is still a job shop that custom produces every order to the customer’s specifications. Producing custom work has a higher cost and has to be sold at a higher price.

If printers are contacting customers, making sales calls, finding out what customers need, and asking for the order, they won’t have to use discounting and low prices to build sales. Printing customers, especially those who need creative services, are willing to pay to get the high quality and service that only a profitable printer can provide.

So when the next new customer asks for a price, take your regular price and raise it. You may find that the only one really concerned about low prices is you.

Stop Chasing the Money

As printers expand their services and start competing with other content creators such as ad agencies and PR firms for managed marketing services, they will have to start pricing like their competitors do. The biggest change isn't going to be getting the higher prices, but getting paid up front for the work.

Today in printing, printers are always chasing the money. We work on getting the proof back so we can get the printing done so we can deliver the job so we can wait 45 days for our money. No other industry creates custom work and then charges for it.

The printer who gets involved in managed marketing will get their money faster. Ad agencies, web designers, copywriters, etc., get at least 50 percent of their money up front. Web companies don't even turn on a web site before they are paid in full for their work. Printers who start selling these types of services will be able to do the same thing and get their money up front.

Why get paid before the work is completed? Many of the services will be marketing related. If the idea doesn't work, the blame shouldn't fall on the printer and the penalty be not to be paid. Sometimes the best marketing program can fail, not because of the tools or materials used, but the follow through by the end user. Leads can be generated, but if the customer doesn't follow up on the leads, it isn't going to be successful. Printers don't want to have their money held back because the customer didn't take action.

As successful printers get away from commodity work and move into the higher value managed marketing services, they need to do it right and use the same billing procedures as their competitors. Just think how much more responsive a customer will be if you already have their money and they want their services.

New Direction for Quick Printing

The future of printing is exciting! I work for CPrint International and we are ending a year where our affiliates have started evolving into what print shops must become if they are to survive. From mobile marketing to web development to social media management, CPrinters are adding services that help their customers get new leads and businesses.

Print is a strong and proven communication tool, but in today's clutter you have to have more. CPrint is showing people how to use the new technology and to integrate it with printing. The exciting thing is that having new strategies for the customers to use puts CPrinters in a completely different catagory than the printer down the street.

Printers are not usually strong sales people, but the new services are making it easy for CPrinters to get in front of hard-to-reach customers and sell. Instead of talking about how low prices and fast delivery times, CPrinters are starting conversations with customers are how to help grow their business with the new services.

CPrinters are getting excited about printing again. We have products and services that customers want and will pay for. Twenty years ago NAQP had an ad campaign for printers that said "We're more than printing." Today CPrinters are just that.

QR Codes Getting Bigger

If you are looking for something to give you a little credibility with the customer about how big QR codes and mobile marketing is becoming then you will want to check out Google and YouTube.
Google began using QR codes to promote its Local Business service. Google mailed out window stickers with two-dimensional QR codes to the most-searched for or clicked-on businesses in its local business directory. These stickers were sent to more than 100,000 local businesses around the country.
Anyone passing by is able to scan the code and get the Google Mobile local directory page for the Favorite Places. The directory pages generally include a map, a phone number, directions, the address, reviews, and a link to the business’ Web site. Local businesses can also set up coupon offers through their Google directory page, which would turn the QR code into a mobile coupon. Google hopes that consumers who are standing at a store window might be enticed to come in and take advantage of a special offer.

QR codes are going mainstream. A QR code was one of the clues on an episode of CSI New York. The actual scene where the QR code is found and scanned is available on YouTube.com. Just search for "CSI New York QR code." The actor explains what a QR code and demonstrates how to use it with a smartphone. You'll see a little TV magic when the website immediately displays on the smartphone screen, but it does get the point across.

You may not get a lot of customers to bite at using QR codes on their printed material, but it sure does give you a good reason to get out and make a sales call.