Margie Dana

If Your Employees Are Unhappy, Your Customers Will Care

Photo courtesy of Luminaire Foto

I love the lazy river that the just built at their Bonita Springs property. For a different reason, so does at least one of their employees.

This gorgeous and relaxing new attraction had a soft opening on Monday, our last day in Florida. The sun was shining as I practically skipped down the sidewalk to take another ride. I couldn’t help but share my delight with a man working on finishing touches at the property.

To my surprise, he exclaimed, “I love it, too! It’s so easy for us to work on this!” He smiled broadly and continued his task.

This short encounter impressed me. I literally thought, “Great – everybody’s happy. Not just us guests, but also the people building this attraction. Good on Hyatt.”

It reminded me of comments I’ve received from print customers when asked what qualities they look for in printers. Many cite the well being of a printer’s employees.

You see, print buyers pay attention to this. Sales and service reps are pretty quick to share their sentiments with some customers. Even if they don’t come out and say whether or not they’re happily employed, customers pick up on what’s what.

A while back I interviewed some experienced and pretty powerful print customers about plant tours and prequalifying potential printers. What do they look for? One thing they notice is the demeanor of people working in the plant. Do people seem happy or sullen? Do salespeople treat pressmen and –women with respect and civility, or are they rude and dismissive?

Bottom line? Your customers pick up on how you treat your employees. If customers spend time at your facility or interact regularly with staff members, they’ll get a sense of how people are treated. They’ll recognize misery if it exists. And it will reflect poorly on you.

Print, the Tie that Binds

One of the nicest things about being me is getting to meet incredible people.

Like Greg Mroczek, a savvy and super-smart book manufacturing expert who works in publishing at Hahhhvaaaad.

We go way back. About 13 years ago I started a print buyers group in Boston and ran dinner meetings throughout the year. Greg started attending those dinners from the beginning, and he came to the annual conferences I produced, too. We’ve kept in touch ever since. Now and then he weighs in on one of my blog posts, and he tends to email me when he comes across some cool print- or publishing-related article. I consider him a leading resource in book manufacturing. He’s absolutely the real deal and, like so many of us, a fool for print.

Over burgers and fries recently (let me be clear: the fries were his), we talked about printing people we knew back in the ‘80s. There were a lot of them, many quite colorful characters, and we swapped too many stories to share here. The 90 minutes flew by.

Greg scolded me for being such a Kindle fan (he works on physical books only) and we discussed our love-hate relationship with digital newspapers. He got the last word in when he stated unequivocally that ebooks are declining in popularity and sales, so long live real books. I certainly have no problem with that, but I do love my Kindle.

Greg Mroczek, the real deal.

It would be great to see Greg more often, not only because he’s smart and funny and tells great stories, but also because – maybe primarily because – we share this thing about print.

If you’ve read my stuff for a while, you know what I’m talking about. Being with kindred spirits who “get” print and who know what it’s like working with (and in Greg’s case, once upon a time, for) printers is a real gas.

The reason we met was because he wanted to give me a broadsheet from the NYT that came out in August. It’s an excerpt from a long piece of fiction by Colson Whitehead called The Underground Railroad that was available only in print.

Even this ebook fan had to admit: it’s a lasting thing of beauty.

Sitting Down with the A-Team

What do print customers think?

As much as you can learn about what customers are thinking by polling them and reading online articles, there’s nothing like sitting down with them and having this conversation.

Next month, I’m being given a terrific opportunity to chat with 4 print production experts to find out their impressions of the print industry – and what it’s like working with their print partners today.

Each of them has a stellar resume. They’ve been in the business for decades, which gives them perspective (and my utmost respect). I can’t wait to have this conversation with them. I’ve no doubt they’ll teach me a tremendous amount about customer expectations.

Who are they? I thought you’d never ask.

Two hail from agency backgrounds. Mariah Hunt is a print production, data processing and lettershop expert. Past clients include Monster.com, Toys R Us, Shaw’s, General Motors, FedEx and Home Depot. She runs her own business (Hunt Direct) and is the current president of New England Direct Marketing Association.

Ellen Hale is the VP and Director of Production, Direct, at MullenLowe Group, Boston. Her client list includes General Motors Credit Card, Department of Defense, Stride Rite, JetBlue, and Santander Bank. She’s a direct response expert.

We have a specialist in higher education at this table. Dianne Vanacore is the Marketing Production Manager at WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute). She handles the university’s annual recruitment, advancement, and branding campaigns.

And our fourth participant represents the retail industry. Steve Hasenauer (“has-an-hour”) is the Senior Manager of Marketing Production at Talbots, a leading retailer and direct marketer of women’s fashions. And guess what? He has over 30 years of print manufacturing and QC experience.

We’ll be discussing what it’s like working with printers today. Among other things, I want to find out if these experts demand more services, more marketing and/or data analytics expertise, from their print partners.

I’ll give them a chance to speak candidly about working with print in 2016. What should printers know about their changing roles and needs? How much more competitive has it become for their prospective print partners?

I’m lucky. I get to ask these random questions because I’m not a printer and don’t work for one. My guests are free to say what they want.

You’re welcome to join us. The May 17^th NEDMA annual conference will be held at Bentley University in Waltham, MA, from 9 to 5. There’s plenty of free parking, and the campus is easy to get to.

Best news saved for last: as a speaker, I can offer you a 50% discount off the $159 conference price. Click here to register for a mere $79 for THE WHOLE DAY, including lunch. Our session runs from 1:30 to 2:20 pm.

Curious about what print production experts have to say about working with print in 2016? I hope you can join us.

(This discount won’t last forever – don’t wait to register.)

In Printing, Everything Old Is New Again

Here’s some good news for printers who can’t come up with topics to blog about or write about in their newsletters:

Don’t presume everyone buying print or designing for print knows all of the printing terminology.

It ain’t necessarily so.

So go ahead, write about funky printing terms like bleed, ghosting, PMS, and hickeys. Many of your customers and prospects have no idea what they mean.

Write about the difference between digital, sheet offset and web offset printing. Believe me, it’s a mystery for many.

Write about inline vs. offline processes. What’s the diff?

Write about finishing processes and when each is recommended.

Write about foil stamping and die cutting. Add engraving, embossing and thermography while you’re at it.

Write about proofs and how customers should review each type of proof you send.

Write about VDP and how it takes a good database and turns it into personalized print materials.

Sprinkle this type of blog or newsletter article into your mix. Content made up of tiny topics is quite valuable to newcomers.

What’s the Role of a Printer at the Marketing Table?

My post two weeks ago, What Kind of Printer Gets a Seat at the Marketing Table?, got a lot of great comments, both on my site and on LinkedIn, where I published it.

I wrote that only a certain type of printing professional is likely to be invited to meet with a marketing team in the development of a campaign. Printers who are trusted partners, who’ve demonstrated they’re creative thinkers and well-rounded communications experts, and who are interested in helping clients find the right solutions are the pros most likely to get called into these meetings.

They are not your average print professionals. They are above average.

A comment made by Arlene Carroll, an Account Manager at Concord Direct, brought up a whole different element: How should printers who have a seat at that table present themselves? What’s a printer’s role there?

I was particularly interested in her comment because of who she is. I knew Arlene back when I ran Print Buyers International, and she was the Director of Marketing Operations at Brookstone. Her extensive history as a senior-level print customer adds a key dimension to her advice for printers – she’s been there and done that.

Here’s what she wrote in response to my post:

“…I find printers invited to the table early on need to be prepared to contribute to a complex discussion BEFORE moving to production solutions and estimates. I find the person printers send are under-prepared and often too quick to move to production issues and specs. Marketers at “the table” are considering many factors simultaneously; Analysis, Results, Tests, Audience/Segmentation, Creative/Copy, Channels and Trends to name a few. Printers need a representative experienced and confident to join this conversation and contribute at a high level. When the discussion reaches the right level, switch gears and become the production expert those at the table then need to achieve the goals on budget. I am experiencing this first hand – wonderful stuff!”

How should printers prepare for a conversation with a marketing team?

Are they expected to be active (and equal) participants? What kind of contributions should they strive to make?

What have your experiences been like in these situations, whether you’re a printer or a customer? Please share your stories here – including experiences that may not have gone so well.

Let’s help prepare printers for these meetings.

Margie Dana & John Zarwan Launch New Print Buyer Study: How Are Print Buyers Interacting with Their Print Providers?

BOSTON, MA and CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI Canada – March 22, 2016 – Margie Dana is teaming up once again with industry consultant and researcher John Zarwan to write a white paper for PRIMIR on how today’s print buyers interact with printers and other print providers. Are they inviting printers into early discussions as campaigns are developed, or do they contact printers once jobs have been specified? Are print buyers still the primary contact for printers within organizations that use print, or has this responsibility shifted to other departments?

“We wanted to understand how and when print buyers interact with their print partners. It will also mean we can compare the results with those of our last two print buyer studies (done in 2013 and 2014),” said Margie Dana.

Dana and Zarwan developed the online survey to focus on the key print-related responsibilities these customers have. For the first time, print providers are invited to participate, as Dana and Zarwan are keen to learn who printers target when they’re developing business, and with whom they ultimately develop relationships.

The team will publish their results in a white paper for PRIMIR and will offer a summary to those who take the survey and provide their contact information.

Print buyers, designers and marketers as well as printers, brokers and other print providers are eligible to take this survey.

The 2016 Print Customer Survey is accessible at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2016printcustomersurvey

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 is a sought-after presenter at trade shows and conferences and still writes her popular Print Tips blog each week, as well as the newer blog: Everyday Content Tips for Everyday People. For more information, visit margiedana.com.

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.

About PRIMIR

PRIMIR is the premier market research association of the graphics communications industry. Members are from diverse segments of the industry and are foremost in their areas of specialty. For more information, go to www.npes.org/primirresearch/primir.aspx.

For More Information

Margie Dana

Margiedana.com

********

John Zarwan

J Zarwan Partners

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

That Old Site’s Not Doing You Any Favors

Printers, consider this a public service announcement. When I find myself having conversations with print buyers, they usually drop a bomb with a random comment that needs to be shared.

For the record, I tend to speak with seasoned pros. Not occasional customers. Not crackpots. Not members of gen Z.

I was chatting with an experienced print production manager about working with the industry in general. The conversation tilted toward the challenge of finding new print providers when necessary. True, there are still over 30,000 commercial printers in the U.S., but expert print customers know that all printers aren’t the same. It’s difficult to make the right choice in a print partner.

She mentioned needing a printer in another part of the country, one where she had no experience. Then she added,

If a site is ugly, I don’t go any further.

I hadn’t asked about printers’ web sites. It wasn’t even part of the conversation. But there it was: her reality, and, I suspect, many other print customers’ as well.

How can prospects believe that you’re an innovative and contemporary print manufacturer, one that offers the latest in printing technology, if your site elicits “Ewwws!” and not “Ahhhhhhs!”

Hold a mirror up to your site. What’s your reaction? What vibe is it giving off?

If yours is a sore site for eyes, invest in a facelift. I think this print customer’s opinion is pretty common, and I don’t know many printers who can afford to turn off prospects with a dusty old, worn-out site.

What Kind of Printer Gets a Seat at the Marketing Table?

I had a conversation recently about how early in the process a company involves their printer in the discussion about using print in a campaign.

Actually, we were chatting about including printers in the bigger picture, in which marketers decide which channels would be most effective. Are printers ever included?

Here’s what I think.

Only printers who have well-developed relationships with a customer (marketer, print buyer, creative) would be invited to have a seat at that table.

Only printers who have well-developed relationships and work for a progressive print manufacturer would be invited to have a seat at that table.

Only printers who have well-developed relationships and work for a progressive print manufacturer and are viewed as masters who think creatively would be invited to have a seat at that table.

Only printers who have well-developed relationships and work for a progressive print manufacturer and are viewed as masters who think creatively and who have a proven interest in helping marketers succeed using a variety of channels would be invited to have a seat at that table.

By printers, I mean salespeople or owners or print brokers or print executives. I know professionals in every one of these categories who are true visionaries. The manufacturers they represent are not your ordinary print shops, to be sure.

These are highly experienced, broad-minded leaders who exude brains, imagination and enthusiasm. Though I’d love to name names, I won’t.

When I read posts about inviting printers into the marketing chambers to contribute to campaign decisions, I only think about the rare professionals I’ve described. They really deserve a seat at those tables.

This could be an interesting discussion if you join in. I welcome your comments.

Who Teaches Print Buyers about Print?

You do, if you’re a printer. They’re counting on you to keep them up to date. Teach them about new technologies and equipment. Teach them about variable data and how to print sustainably. Introduce them to new substrates, applications, and finishes.

Show them things like how to improve their job files, save money by shaving just a hair off a particular format, and design a direct mail campaign that can make it through the US mail unscathed.

Teach your customers how to develop campaigns that are creative. And effective. Talk to them about the importance of good data and how it must be used for their print campaigns.

Instruct your customers on the value (and magic) of multichannel marketing. Show them where print fits in. Demonstrate how such a campaign would work for their organization. Focus on the tracking technologies for print. Many buyers and marketers have no idea this can even be done.

Be confident enough to offer suggestions on how to improve a job. What sort of campaign or print piece would you recommend that could be more successful, more effective, more attention-getting?

Businesspeople who buy print come from print manufacturing, or they come up through the ranks as print buyers by choice, or they are designers…or they have no experience whatsoever. They count on printers to teach them what they ought to know.

Teaching customers about print is part of a printer’s role. It needn’t be formal. It needn’t be onerous. It needn’t be expensive.

Do it with the spoken word. Do it with photographs. Do it with videos. Do it with content. Use your website, emails, the US mail, and your social channels. Host events, hire speakers, present at conferences, create webinars or podcasts.

View this as an opportunity, not sheer drudgery. Customers look for and respond to printers who educate them.

Do You Broadcast the Names of Your Customers?

One thing I get fired up about is a printer’s website. Even when I happen upon a site that’s not a client’s, I’m all over it like a cheap suit. There’s a mental checklist I go through to ultimately give it a grade from the perspective of a potential customer.

I was checking out the website of Lithographics Inc. after a couple of their salespeople subscribed to this blog. For whatever reason, I went to the “Our Work” section, where I came upon four different subsections.

It was the first link that caught my attention. It’s called “Clients.” Lo and behold, there I found a page filled with logos of some of their clients.

Though it may seem trivial to you, to me it’s quite significant. Because most printers’ sites that I come across do not share the names of their customers. Maybe they’re afraid that competitors will steal them away. Quite possibly they can’t get permission from clients to use their logos (or even identify them in a list of testimonials).

Seeing this colorful list made quite the good impression on me. It comes from strength – to put these client names out there. It comes from pride – to acknowledge some of their clients on a web page. And frankly, seeing this graphic arrangement of company logos somehow conveys Success.

Back when I bought print for a financial services company here in Boston, whenever a printer dropped the name “Fidelity” to us, we all thought, “Well, if they’re good enough for Fidelity, they must be fantastic!” Worked like a charm.

What do you think? If you’re a printer, are you man enough to post a list of customers on your site (with permission, of course)? And if you’re a print customer, would this influence you?

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