Print Sales and The Current Economy

The current economy has been tough on everyone, but with local printers dropping like flies it is obvious our industry has been hit especially hard. Companies are simply spending less on printing. The irony is that now is the time you should be printing more, not less, to better position yourself for the other side of this recession. That’s not likely to happen right away. Like most people I think it will get slightly worse before it gets better.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be printing, but you should be very careful how you spend your printing dollars. Now is the time to embrace variable-data and personalized print. Send highly targeted messages to your very best prospects and clients. Let them know you are still out there. Tell them how you can help solve their problems. Make it about the customer.

I remember the old days, back in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Printers lined up with sample cases and pictures of iron and talked about speeds and feeds and paper samples. There was ritualistic process of getting three quotes, listening to pitches and picking the quote in the middle. Everyone knew the game.

Well, the game has changed. Look at the graveyard of household names that have gone under if you don’t believe me. As sales people we must understand that consumers deserve more than pictures of our presses. They expect information and we must deliver it quickly in ways that is relevant to them. It isn’t about us.

This economy is tough, but it will get better. It has too. The question is how we will be positioned when it does. Will we be solution providers, or will we revert back to our habits of old?