It was exciting to hear about the success stories from printers at Print 09. While the industry in general continues to struggle through these turbulent times there was some good news at the show. What were these companies doing that the others were not? Hard to pinpoint for sure but a few things they had in common:
- The owners and senior leadership could clearly describe their strategy and were focused on getting everyone in the company aligned to deliver on the effort;
- They had increased the marketing effort for the company so that their message was loud and clear to their clients and prospects. They were positioning themselves to be the leaders in their markets so that as things improved, they would be well positioned for success;
- Many said their results were not acceptable this year, so they continue to take costs and time out of their workflow by using the technology that they already own to its fullest, continue to look at new technology and use the downturn to make sure they have the right people in the right positions;
- Sales were still an issue with most firms as many of their top clients have reduced their print spend. While they hadn't really lost any clients, they just weren't spending like they have in the past. The companies that had several large clients that made up a large percentage of their revenue seemed to be more impacted than those with a diversified client mix. Most have reduced their capacity, hours and overhead to match the new sales level and some have compensated somewhat by a renewed focus [and success] on business development within inactive as well as new accounts;
