At a recent print exhibition, I heard that a ‘guru’ in the industry asserted that printers have to change.
I would agree with this.
But they felt that this may go to the extent of not using the ‘P’ word when describing your business.He asserted that printers need to become ‘integrated graphic communication solution providers’?
Terms like this are one of my pet hates. Sure it may make sense when you think about it – but will customers have a clue what you are going on about? And do they have the time to think about these things?
Whilst I agree change is needed – I think this guru man is missing the point.
‘Print’, as a word, really does what it says on the tin. It really works for me. ‘Print’.
If someone called me explaining they were a ‘integrated graphic communication solution provider’ I might think they were a questionable individual….and slightly confused.
I think there is a far simpler way to explain what our community needs to do to change for the better.
We need to become better business people.
We need to ask ourselves some very probing and personal business questions.
Are we printers that do business?
Or are we business people that print?
If you answered ‘yes’ to the first question. You are likely a traditional printer. But I think that your current mode of thinking may not be in sync with where the market is headed and I think you could benefit from changing the way you think and go about your business.
You need to challenge your own thinking of yourself, your vision and how you conduct the most important aspect of your business.
The interaction with your team and their interaction with your customers.
Because if you answered yes to the second question and you are a business person that prints. (and increasingly we are seeing a breed of ‘printer’ who approaches business like this), then you are in a more advantageous position.
The worse recession in history has taught us that our customers are not passionate about a process. This has been said for years by many people in the industry, but because times were good and orders were coming in through print shop windows, there was no need for us to change. We took the easy money, we did our job but we didn’t become indispensable. We became heavily commoditised.
And the recession has shown us that clearly, customers need value and performance with their business. And they will only be interested in print if it delivers them business value.
It’s harsh, brutal, business.
So as a result, our community must sharpen our skills as business people.
We must retain our passion for print. In fact, I am assuming this will be the case. But we must become business focused first.
In 60 Minutes to Innovate! ( a seminar session at FESPA 2010) Frazer and I challenge the notion of tradition. Our old ways of doing things. We look at what we need to keep and what new things we should introduce.
Because as a community of business people that print, we need to achieve parity. We need to gain parity with customers as equality leads to partnerships. And partnerships generate more value and more profit.
I believe that from the dawn of printing time we have been servants to our masters and as a result we have put ourselves at the bottom of the food chain.
It is the agencies & the creatives that dominate customers ‘creative spend’. They behave differently to traditional printers. They challenge the customer, they ask business focused questions and provide creative solutions. As a result, they demand more spend from the client. And because of our transactional nature, unfortunately, print is an afterthought in the creative process.
But there are some of us, amongst the large format printing community who are definately changing this. This is inspiring, but I still think these innovators are in the minority.
So when you hear the term, ‘integrated graphic solution provider’, it really is up to you whether you think you can apply this to your business.
But business, in my opinion, is the key word when you think about your future.
So my advice to you is not to eradicate print from your vocabulary. It really is a great word.
But you will need to change the way you think and act.
And remind yourself that you are a ‘business person that prints’…
Great article!
Thanks you for talented way with words.
Are we printers that do business?
Or are we business people that print?
Thanks for this article Marcus. I for one definitely agree with you that the world of ‘print’ is changing, has to change and move into the future of social media, for direct dialogue with customers, be it all important positive feedback or criticism. Also digital printing for high end, very fast, grab you and make you look at this printing! With the new spot UV’s about now aswell, it’s a scarily good addition to finish off large format work. I come from not only a print background in my working history but also traditional printer’s in my family. They would say yes to the first question. I’m third generation and would say yes to the second. But don’t tell them. Print isn’t dead! It is still very much an art form.
This really gives me some things to think about. Thanks.