Helping clients measure the return on their print dollars can result in more dollars for you
There’s no question that there is increasing competition for dollars in the print business. The industry seems to be experiencing a triple threat. Printers continue to compete with each other as always for the right to work with high-quality clients. Budgets, in general, appear to be shrinking in part because of the dramatic improvements in printing technology has made once expensive projects much more reasonable. Finally, clients are turning their attention to other media to implement their advertising and communication strategies.
Once upon a time print was clearly the best way to get a message out to the public. Is it today? What is the role of the printer in the era of the Kindle? How can printers demonstrate their relevance in a digital world? Essentially, can traditional printers show clients the return on their print investment relative to other media? Do they need to?
Who cares?
Before you start talking about ROI with your print buying clients and prospects, make sure you clearly understanding the type of buyer you are dealing with. It may not be fair to generalise, but some buyers care about these types of issues and some don’t. In my print-buying experience I’ve had occasions where I was responsible for measuring the ROI of print-related projects and other times when I was not.
Generally speaking, larger organisations have more centralised purchasing departments. Indeed, all groups inside the organisation will seek out the print-buying experts internally to handle the procurement for their projects. In these types of organisations, the department making the “to print or not to print” decision is somewhat removed from the printing process and you are dealing directly with the buyer. If you want to talk ROI, the buyer is probably not the person you need to sit down with. What you’re looking for is the Account Executive, Director of Marketing or any one of the various titles that corporations use to indicate the person controlling the pursestrings.
In smaller organisations – think about a small design firm as an example – the creative director generally doubles as the print buyer. In this case, that one person is ultimately responsible for the print decision. That’s the person you need to spend some time with. The good news here is that you probably already have an established relationship.
What’s the big deal?
Talking about ROI may be a daunting task. Do you have a way of measuring the effectiveness of your printing? Likely, not. It’s never really been the role of the printer to advise clients on issues related to ROI. That’s the purview of the agency or corporation spending the money, isn’t it? But while you may not be able to control all aspects of an ROI discussion, printers certainly help.
Some decision makers may believe that one way to increase the return on the investment is to reduce the expense side. Others argue that you need to spend money before you can make money. As printer, if you find yourself always being caught in cost-cutting conversations, you need to change your tune. Cutting costs is not always the best solution. So what do you tell a client when they want to switch from four colour to two colours? Things can always be done cheaper, but that’s not a game that most printers want to play as it reduces their revenues.
The key is being able to convince clients to actually increase their spend (good for you) in ways that will improve the ROI of their project. For example, a move from unaddressed direct mail to personalised direct mail improved response rates for investors and didn’t cost the buyer less. In fact, it cost them more. They key here is to build up an arsenal of success stories from other clients. If you have happy clients, they likely have some stories they wouldn’t mind you sharing (ask for permission first, of course). That way, the next time someone asks you to produce a flyer you can up-sell them to a door hanger. The one colour pocket folder becomes a blind embossed beauty – not because it costs more but because you can demonstrate that it delivers more.
Moving Forward
Competition will only get fiercer as new players come into the market to challenge dollars previously allocated to print. Are you prepared to meet those challenges?
We’re already seeing convergence between many different types of companies. Printers are merging with design agencies, photographers and web design companies so that they can offer their clients a complete “one-stop shop” for their creative solution. And, while smaller players may not be afford to invest in or acquire the infrastructure to run an integrated model, they can certainly form mutually beneficial strategic relationships with these types of suppliers.
That way, when a client asks if you can help with a web – the online flavour as well as the print flavour – you can. Wouldn’t if you had a small piece of all of the different components? That’s one way to increase the ROI that’s most important to you – your own.
Originally published in Graphic Monthly Canada magazine.
