Margie Dana

What Caught My Eye: Print & Media in the News

Now and then I select and comment on some of the most interesting news items I’ve read recently. In some way, shape or form, they relate to media and communicating – whether in print or digital media, or simply how people are consuming and sharing information these days. Here’s what’s interested me:

In direct marketing, make sure to Give Them What They Want. This is an excellent post I found on HuffPost by Gregory Demetriou. It includes several smart tips when preparing direct marketing materials so that your piece is truly interactive – that’s essential in a successful campaign. Getting a response is what this post is all about. Bravo, sir.
Here’s big news that surely many of you caught: catalogs are staging a comeback! The NYT had a major article last week about the fact that because so many of us rely on retailers’ catalogs to guide our purchases, they’re enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Catalogs had declined for years, but according to the DMA, “catalogs mailed in the United States increased in 2013, to 11.9 billion…”
But when one door opens, another shuts. I learned that Skymall, that in-flight shopping magazine stuffed into seat pockets (and evidently ignored), filed for bankruptcy. So many posts were written about it, but I like this one for its headline: Just Plane Sad. (Are you surprised? I’m a writer.)
While I’m on a catalog roll, did you read about JC Penney? Yes indeed, 5 years after killing their gigantic catalog, they’re bringing it back. It will be mailed initially to their existing customers. Anchors away!
Moving into media careers, I so liked this position: digital marketing requires a blend of creative AND technical skills. Those of you who’ve hired or are planning on hiring new employees in marketing, design, or even prepress and print sales (there, I said it) must surely be evaluating people on a combination of both types of skills. As a writer, I’m experiencing this myself when talking to prospects. They don’t just expect me to “write.” There’s value in my knowing about mobile, social, even video.
A little levity can’t hurt. Here are bad graphic design puns that will make your inner designer smile.
Now to end on a note of beautiful inspiration: Bibliothecaphilia is a new exhibit at the MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Adams, MA. Six artists explore the medium of books (physical books, not “e”), especially the ways in which books are shared and re-used. I hope to get there. Vive le livre! (Apologies if this isn’t correct; my French is tres rusty.)

Thanks for letting me share these stories. Each made a big impression on me. Hope they inspire you in some way.

Goodbye Testimonials, Hello Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are powerful. They can propel a business to the top of its food chain – or sink it to the bottom of the heap. I’m jumping on the customer review bandwagon. So should you.

We customers trust one another’s feedback about a product or service quicker than we trust what a company says about its own products. A great review by a third party is so much more powerful than a company’s review of itself. I’ll believe other customers before I’ll believe what you tell me about your services. Their comments carry more weight.

It’s something called “social proof,” which is the influence caused by others’ reactions. It’s human nature to look around us and see what others are doing, and if enough people are acting or behaving in one way, in many cases, so will you. (Haven’t you jaywalked because people around you are crossing a street when a light’s red?)

I look for customer feedback on lots of things before purchasing them. Appliances, computer equipment, housewares, and clothing come to mind. And in my house, we spend an inordinate amount of time reading reviews on hotels, restaurants and potential vacation spots to help us decide where we’ll go.

Last fall, the Better Business Bureau reprinted a column by Megan Lum in which she states, “According to a 2013 survey by BrightLocal, 85% of consumers say they read online reviews for local businesses; this is up from 76% in 2012. The same survey also found that 73% of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a business more, which is up from 58% just one year prior.”

This makes me think about what more can be done to promote and share customer reviews for certain service providers. Let’s take commercial printers. The traditional approach to customer reviews for a printing company is still alive and kicking today: enter “The Testimonial.” I myself use this term regularly with my printer clients – but I’m starting to think it’s too old, too buttoned up, too hyper-sanitized.

Typically, printers ask for (or receive unsolicited) testimonials from customers, and once permission has been granted, the printer uses these testimonials on the web site and in promotional materials.

All well and good. But isn’t it time to do better? Can’t we have more fun with feedback?

Imagine what it would be like to have a spot on your web site that invites customer comments and reviews. I spent time searching on the Internet for customer reviews of printers and had trouble finding much, but I DID find www.bluebeeprinting.com in San Francisco. Their customer reviews are featured on their home page – top right hand side – and there’s a link to their Customer Lobby as well, in which over 600 reviews can be read. (Customer Lobby is a software app to collect, manage and publish customer reviews, according to their website.)

And imagine how great it would be to have videos featuring customers on your site, in which they share something awesome about working with you. Maybe they want to tell the world about a terrific employee of yours, for all the world to see. Customer videos add personality to your site. They’re more interesting than words on a page. They can paint a truly powerful picture of what it’s like working with you.

You know who does a nice job of this? PFL: www.printingforless.com. They have a ton of customer comments and videos online. In many of the videos, customers hold up samples of the printer’s work, making each video relaxed, casual, and personal. Just fun to watch. Bravo, PFL!

This isn’t a strategy you can simply achieve and implement overnight, but you have to start somewhere. How could you add ongoing customer reviews to your site?

More importantly: Why isn’t this a good idea?

For a terrific post by HubSpot (I’m their biggest fan, when it comes to blogs), read this one about .

Placing customer reviews on your site is recommended and is just step #1. They need to be published in your social media feed and on sites where your prospects might go to check out service providers in your field.

Social media wizard Brian Solis talks a lot about the value of customer experiences. He writes, “Today brands are not created, they’re co-created by the experiences customers share through social media and mobile networks.”

If you agree, then your customers are shaping your brand, as we speak, through what they’re saying about you on social media and in mobile networks.

Getting your customers to share their reviews of your company is a challenge I hope you’re up to. You need to have a plan in place to ask them for reviews, to capture the reviews, to publish them, and to spread them through your own SM networks as well as theirs.

Here’s to retiring the notion of testimonials and embracing the more engaging concept of customer reviews. How might you go about this?

Print Buyers & the Paper Industry

FINAL Paper Sourcing Study Report- Dana and Zarwan 2014 If you’re in the graphic arts field, you know that aside from graphic designers, there are thousands of print buyers spread throughout corporate departments like marketing, production, and purchasing. I was one of these people for most of my corporate career. It felt like being part of a secret club.

Print buyers typically don’t have formal education in the graphic arts, though many come from the design side. I’ve also met plenty of buyers who worked on the printing side, especially after the recession several years ago.

That said, most corporate and agency print buyers learn about printing from their printers (plus experienced colleagues, if they exist).

But where-oh-where do these buyers learn about paper? Here’s why it matters: Paper accounts for between ¼ and 1/3 of the cost of a typical commercial print job, so understanding paper basics, appreciating the differences between different stocks, as well as how to specify paper efficiently, is critical for buyers. And just getting all sorts of paper news is important for these customers.

This past summer, I conducted a study of print buyers, along with my colleague John Zarwan, to take a look at their relationship with the paper industry.

We wondered if this community is getting the information they want and need in order to specify paper effectively. We wanted to know on whom they most rely to get this information, as well as how widespread their participation in common paper-buying programs are.

Our hope was that we’d uncover some useful information about print buyers that would help paper people and printers. To our knowledge, it wasn’t a study anyone else has done. There were 176 buyers in our study from all across the U.S.

Some of our key findings in this study are these:

Print buyers typically do specify paper for their print jobs. This simple fact alone is a good-enough reason for the paper industry to continue to reach out to buyers with information and education. Buyers are “paper decision makers.” Get your product’s information in their hands and in front of their eyes.
Swatch books rule! Most print buyers said that paper swatch books are extremely valuable to them. It makes you wonder, what else can these tools deliver to buyers? Can they play additional roles in the education (and influence) of print buyers?
For print buyers, paper education is a catch-as-catch-can process. They use a wide number of resources to keep up with paper changes, offerings, and industry news. This is good news and bad news. Paper companies and merchants have to identify these resources and make sure their products are represented.
Printers are primary sources of paper information. Perhaps you’re thinking, “same as it ever was.” Fair enough. But what does this fact suggest to both paper people and printing companies? To me, it says there are opportunities aplenty for paper companies to reach and influence print buyers through printers as well as directly.

Rivista colorata This study suggests many things. Knowing that print buyers are paper customers means that paper mills and merchants should cater to them. Buyers want more information from the paper industry to help them do their jobs responsibly. Perhaps it’s out there yet not in front of their eyes. This is entirely possible.

That buyers rely on their printers for this information means that the paper industry might improve or at least enhance its direct-marketing channels to the buyer community.

You know, it’s always been easier to reach and influence graphic designers when it comes to paper (and printing). Designers have fairly conventional job titles. They have magazines. They have professional associations and events. They’re major customers of paper (most of them) as well as graphic design software. All of this means it’s easy to find them and serve them.

Print buyers are a different breed. They have dozens of titles and work in many different corporate units. This won’t change.

A considerable challenge, therefore, is identifying print buyers. Worth the effort? Absolutely, for paper companies as well as printers. Once you do, this study indicates, paper education for print buyers will yield long-term results, for buyers and for the paper industry.

For information about our print buyer and paper study, and to purchase a copy of our report, please visit my web site.

New Print Buyer Report Indicates Buyers Would Welcome More Attention from the Paper Industry

BOSTON, MA and CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI Canada – January 12, 2015 – According to survey results released today and conducted by Margie Dana, printing industry expert, and industry consultant and researcher John Zarwan, most print buyers would like more help from the paper industry and desire more information about changes in the industry. In addition, they would welcome more educational information to help them in their roles as paper specifiers. The findings indicate that most buyers currently rely on their print partners for information about paper and the paper industry.

The 33-page report, which involved nearly 200 professional print buyers across the country, is called “Print Buyers & the Paper Industry: Who They Rely on, How They Source Paper, and Where They Get Their Information.” Data collected in this study reveal additional findings of interest to the industry. Some buyers report that they have difficulty specifying paper for digital print jobs, which is primarily due to the fact that different equipment has different paper requirements.

Other insight reveals that print buyers go to a wide variety of sources, both online and off, to gather paper information, and they would welcome more events and resources stemming from the paper industry and addressing their specific needs.

“This report suggests a tremendous opportunity for the paper industry as well as commercial and printers to work more closely together in educating and informing professional print buyers,” notes Zarwan.

The study suggests that print buyers get their professional paper education in a catch-as-catch-can manner; they rely on many sources for information on paper industry changes, and emphatically want more information directly from the paper industry. Dana adds, “Print buyers want more attention from the paper industry. They miss relationships they had with spec reps and are ready to embrace targeted educational efforts about commercial printing paper. It’s a challenge that, if met, will reap the paper industry major benefits. Since almost every print buyer specifies paper, there’s an enormous opportunity to serve them and influence their paper choices.”

The NPTA

This study was supported by NPTA, the National Paper Trade Association, who was committed to learning more about how the industry might better serve print buyers today. “This reports clearly shows how paper selection decisions are made and who has influence in the process. A must-read for anyone in the paper supply chain,” said Sean Samet, Executive Vice President, NPTA.

Report Dynamics

The report is now available for $99 at https://margiedana.com/store/reports/.

Dana and Zarwan’s 2013 report “The New Print Buyers,” which discusses the changing role, responsibilities, and needs of print buyers, is also available for $99. Both reports can be purchased together at the discounted price of $149.

Margie Dana

About Margie Dana

Long regarded as a print buyer expert and trade writer, Margie Dana launched her new business in 2013 as a marketing communications strategist with a specialty in printing and print buying. She ghostblogs for her clients, writes newsletters, web sites and other marketing materials, and still publishes her popular Print Tips blog each week. For details on her services and to sign up for Print Tips, visit margiedana.com.

John Zarwan

About John Zarwan

J Zarwan Partners works closely with a select number of companies, guiding them to develop and implement more effective and efficient business strategies. Their clients, which include commercial printing and packaging industry leaders, benefit from his extensive experience in addressing and managing change; market strategy and implementation; product planning and positioning; and market research. John Zarwan, founding partner, has been in the graphic arts, printing, and digital media industry for 30 years and is internationally recognized for his knowledge and insight on trends in the industry. He has spoken at major industry events and conferences around the world, and his articles on print markets and technology have appeared in various print and web journals. For more information, go to: www.johnzarwan.com.

For More Information

Margie Dana

Margiedana.com

John Zarwan

J Zarwan Partners

E: http://www.johnzarwan.com/contact.htm

12 Golden Rules of Marketing for Printing Companies

As I’ve developed my marketing business over the past two years, I often find myself giving the same advice to my clients. These 12 tips are some of the most common suggestions I share with print company owners, so I decided to compile them here “in brief” to help other print CEOs who might be struggling with their marketing plans.

Always approach any marketing effort from the perspective of your ideal customer. Get inside their heads. Don’t think like a printer; think like a print customer. What matters to them? What would impress them? What do they need to know about what you offer?
Remember this: what’s common knowledge to you may well be new and helpful information to your prospects. Basic print industry know-how and technical tips make for great content marketing.
If you serve particular markets or distinct types of customers (designers and print buyers and brand marketers, for example), develop marketing messages specifically for each type.
Make your marketing personal. Tailor it to your audience and make it about them. And give your marketing campaigns your personality. Try not to sound like every other printer. Put your own stamp on your web site, your direct mail campaigns, your videos, and so on.
Keep in mind that marketing your company is not about your equipment. It’s about what you can accomplish with it. What are its special features and capabilities that directly affect customers’ needs and/or solve their problems?
Keep in touch regularly with your customers and prospects. Use some combination of these channels: direct mail, email, social media, phone calls, events, videos, and blogging.
Confer with your sales and service reps regularly. What are they hearing from customers? What kudos keep cropping up? What complaints or other issues? This is important information for your marketing.
Load up your marketing efforts with visual imagery. It’s your business, for Pete’s sake.
Your sales reps are not in charge of marketing. Somebody else has to be.
Marketing is not a “one-and-done” situation. It’s a constant. It’s ALWAYS time for marketing.
Your marketing materials need a consistent look. Make them professional and proofread everything a thousand times. Recently I came across a gorgeous magazine ad for a printer. There was an unfortunate typo in the company’s tagline.
You don’t have to be everywhere – find the appropriate marketing channels and develop those muscles. Do what comes naturally and get comfortable with that. Maybe it’s videos, or blogging, or an Instagram account. Create a plan you can commit to and live with for at least 12 months, and go from there.

The late, great Michael Jackson sang “ When it comes to marketing your business, just don’t stop. Period.

*Got you up and dancing now, didn’t I?

11 Common Printing Terms & What They Mean

While thousands of you have tons of industry experience, thousands of you don’t. For those who are new to working with the print industry – especially those who work for a company or agency that sources print – this post is for you.

Here are a few common words and phrases you might hear during your dealings with printers, and what they mean.

Web printing has nothing to do with printing off the Internet. Web printing refers to work produced on large printing presses that use rolls (webs) of paper, as opposed to paper that’s cut into sheets. Web printing is suitable for really large quantities and/or very long runs. So when someone asks, “Is this running sheet or web?” you’ll know what it means.

Digital printing, in the words of Steve Suffoletto, a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer for Diamond Packaging, “…is any process that can regenerate a new image for each impression or print cycle.” The key words here are “new “ and “each.” Traditional offset presses print static impressions over and over again. Digital presses produce a new image every time. You need to do something personalized or customized? You’ll go digital.

Full-color or process color or 4-C (four-color) all refer to using four specific colors: cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow, plus black, to reproduce color photos or illustrations. They’re abbreviated as CMYK. (True story: when I worked in print production at Boston University, I asked a professor if he wanted to use 4-color in his upcoming brochure. He replied, “Four colors?? No, I want to use all the colors!”)

Substrate refers to the material that a printer prints on. Most of the time it’s paper, but you can print on plastic, fabric, foil and many other materials.

Trade printers (as in “we print for the trade”) serve other printers, not you or me.

pURLS stand for personalized URLs. It’s a technology that lets you create a unique URL for each person you’re targeting. They’re trackable.

CSR stands for Customer Service Rep. These are the angels who work in printing companies and serve customers like you and me. Often, you’ll deal with the CSR, not the sales rep, once you give a printer a job.

PMS stands for Pantone Matching System® and refers to the standard ink color system used by commercial printers. According to the Pantone site, there are now 1755 color choices available. It also says 644 new PMS colors have been added since 2010. Holy cow. Pantone’s world headquarters are in my hometown: New Jersey!

Makeready refers to the time and work needed to get a printing press ready to produce your job. It’s part of the prepress process. There’s no makeready for digital jobs – or so I thought. I heard from Bob Harrington of EnvisionInk Printing Solutions that frequently on his digital presses, they have to tweak color so it matches a customer’s sample, and he does indeed consider this makeready. Thanks, Bob!

Soft proofs refer to proofs a printer will send you to view on your computer monitor as opposed to hard proofs, which are physical proofs you can hold in your hands.

Interactive print solutions is a term that generally refers to campaigns that marry printed materials with other multichannel communications, like mobile, email or Internet.

These terms are more important for corporate or agency print buyers to know. Consumers who only buy print occasionally can benefit from this knowledge as well.

Monthly Archives: January 2015