surprising news about today's print buyers

Margie Dana at 2011 Print Management Conference

(c)2011 Margie Dana 1

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Margie Dana Founder, Print Buyers International

@margiedana 2

About Margie !! Former corporate print

buyer (15+ yrs) !! Publisher, Margie’s

Print Tips, weekly e-newsletter, since ‘99

!! Founder, Boston Print Buyers, now Print Buyers Int’l (PBI)

!! Producer of 6 annual print buyer conferences

!! Book author, Print Buying Made Simple and Put It on Paper!

!! Leading source of buyer trends, motivations, practices

!! Columnist/blogger for Printing Impressions

!! Speaker, consultant



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Services o! Web site audit & consult o! Content generator (AKA writer) o! Sales team educator & motivator o! Analysis of promotional materials to

improve effectiveness o! Development of customer communication

strategy o! Speaker

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My job

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Freshest of research 6th Annual Print & Media Conference, co-located with Graph Expo 9/13 – 9/14 -! 100 sr.-level attendees, 25 states -! Breadth of industries -! 2-day program with 16 sessions -! Daily Brainstorming session, most valuable

content -! Program reflected mix of relevant issues

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Who were they? !! Sr. Project Manager !! Production Manager !! Manager, Strategic Sourcing !! Sr. Print Buyer !! Assoc. Director, Product

Quality !! MarComm Procurement

Specialist !! Production Specialist !! Marketing Coordinator !! Sr. Manager Procurement

!! Ass’t Dir./Prod. Mgr, Creative Services

!! Sr. Art Director !! Buyer !! Production Analyst !! Production Coordinator !! Dir., Marketing Production !! Print Channel Specialist !! Comm. Manager !! Project Manager !! Print Buyer



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…and more titles !! Manager, Marketing

Projects !! Manager, Bus. Services !! Digital Media Specialist !! Production Analyst !! Graphic Designer !! Creative Services Mgr. !! Communications Project

Leader !! Inventory Buyer !! Director, Marketing Projects

!! VP Marketing !! Senior Print Buyer !! Custom Media Solutions

Business Manager !! Director, Marketing

Production

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Who they represented !! Colleges/universities !! Publishers !! Insurance/financial services !! Manufacturers !! Retailers !! Casinos !! Restaurants !! Scientific !! Food markets !! Clothing retailers !! Pharmaceuticals

!! Design groups !! Educational testing !! Automotive manufacturing !! Medical nonprofits !! Coffee roasters !! Printers !! Ecommerce printers !! Cataloguers !! Nonprofits



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Audience traits !! Very experienced (9+ yrs) !! Some part of Marketing –

but not all !! Very little uniformity or

standards in corporate titles

!! They represent the universal “society” of print customers

!! Very willing to share information with one another

!! Do not tend to throw printers under the bus.

Relaxed group discussion…

No better way to gauge mood,

challenges, key issues of this unique market.

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Are their glasses half empty/full?

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@margiedana 12

Steel yourselves… I smelled

in Chicago.

Hope



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Lo & behold! Print matters. !! It remains their #1 marketable skill –

and they are very proud of this. !!Volumes are down – but not out. !!Hungry for more print education. !!Need help in answering, “Why print?” !!Print’s their first love. Wanted no

part of being steered elsewhere.

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What keeps them up? 1.! Ability to articulate why print should

be selected in media mix, and why it’s a green choice.

2.! Keeping current w/print technology. 3.! Selling their own value upstream in

an effective & consistent way. 4.! Sourcing unusual products or

products new to them.



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What are non-issues? !!Printers as MSPs (Marketing

Services Providers) !!Obsessing about the demise of print !!Sweating the small stuff – like their

job titles !!Being victimized. They are in print to

stay.

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What do they want? Printers who… !! Educate me & my staff on new technologies you

offer !! Educate me when I’m unsure of my options !! Have my back when I don’t think through these

options !! Represent me more than your company !! Make me and my company look good !! Understand my company !! Are confident enough to offer suggestions on how

to improve my specs



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…and printers who !! Give great customer service !! Treat me as an important customer !! Keep me up to date on the latest technology !! Bring me ease & peace of mind !! Above all aim to make my customers happy !! Who are consistent in quality, service & pricing !! Who understand my distribution process & quality

needs

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We have a duty to this market

Help print customers educate their marketing colleagues &

managers about the ROI, value & sustainability of Print.

We need to educate them first.

We need to prove that Print isn’t Evil or necessarily pricier then

e-media.



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Status of 2011 print buyers Hungry for tech education? ! Hungry for multi-channel strategies

& implementation help? ! Hungry for newest print technologies? !"

Hungry for ideas to impress managers? !"

Hungry for education on sourcing & evaluating service providers? !

Hungry for more educational content on your sites? !

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How to earn their business Publish educational content

regularly: "! Emails "! Blogs "! Articles "! Newsletters "! Videos "! Educational sessions



@margiedana

10 action items for printers 1.! Make listening to customers a priority. 2.! Make sure your database of customers &

prospects is current, accurate, maintained. Get customers’ OK to send them informational emails or corporate blogs.

3.! Get sales & service reps to document customer issues (complaints, file problems, knowledge gaps). Recurring topics # fodder for content: blogs, newsletters, web stuff.

4.! In 3 months, using those topics, develop a short list of educational sessions or webinars. Survey customers about interest and delivery preference.

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Action items for printers 5.! Commit to sending customers a monthly e-

newsletter. 75/25 balance of info/promo. Produce a schedule of topics, assign work internally or hire a pro. Need not be long.

6.! Create a corporate Facebook page. Make it someone’s responsibility. Develop your FB strategy and build out the content.

7.! Create a corporate Twitter account. Make it someone’s responsibility. Develop your Twitter strategy and build out the content by (in part) repurposing content from newsletter, emails, FB content. Use Twitter to establish your expertise.

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Action items for printers 8.! Develop a prospecting protocol. Researching

someone’s industry must be #1. 9.! Compile written descriptions of new and/or

innovative technologies, equipment or services. Don’t presume customers understand processes & benefits. Again, more fodder for content you can repurpose in blogs, newsletters, emails, articles. Make sure customers get this information. Make dept. heads responsible for documenting these processes.

10.! Review your web site for content, images, overall personality. Is it an accurate online presence of your firm? Is it stale or current?

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@margiedana

A printer’s web site in 2011 "! Who’s who "! Social media buttons so

visitors can connect "! Current equipment list in

plain English "! Your blog "! Customer newsletter –

short & sweet is fine "! News items

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@margiedana

As opposed to this… "! Petrified news items "! Photos of equipment or

buildings & not people "! Hidden leadership "! Obscure content !"! Total absence of

educational content "! No newsletter "! No blog "! No glossary "! No “how-to” tips = NO REASON TO LINGER!

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@margiedana

Printer’s Content Calendar Daily Twitter, FB post, LinkedIn Weekly Blog post Monthly eNewsletter Quarterly Magazine (mailed) Annually Update web site As needed News releases

Bonus points! Videos

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The penultimate slide - What have I said that surprised you?

- Do you recognize any of your customers in these trends?

- What is your first step to serving these common customer needs?

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Thank you! Get in touch.

Margie Dana [email protected] www.printbuyersinternational.com

SSiiggnn uupp ffoorr MMaarrggiiee’’ss PPrriinntt TTiippss oonn oouurr ssiittee!!

118 Arlington Road Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 617/730-5951 Twitter.com/margiedana