The list of technologies considered hot today is long, which makes prioritizing possible investments difficult. On the list are QR codes, inkjet presses, social media marketing, Web-to-print, variable-data printing, automated PDF workflows, Purls, integrated MIS systems, large-format printing, email marketing, and many others. If you ask different people in sales, management, or the operations side what technology they consider top investment priorities, you will get different answers depending on their unique experiences or individual motivations. Here is the perspective from a workflow and digital technology guy.
Two things determine a hot technology. From a sales and value proposition viewpoint, a hot technology is something that helps address a customer need, such as increasing customer convenience. From an internal workflow perspective, a hot technology is something that helps increase productivity, such as reducing turnaround times and reducing manufacturing costs. Ultimately, both increase your value proposition because your customers want to work with companies that make it easier for them to work with you, and turnaround times and competitive pricing are also high on their list.
One hot technology that fits these criteria is Web-to-print. For some customers, the ability to get an estimate online quickly or order a reprint fast makes that company more convenient and valuable. In addition, there are some products such as business cards or books that can move directly from Web-to-print solutions into production with no touches.
Does Web-to-print diminish your sales or service value?
Some people consider a Web-to-print solution a threat because it can remove or reduce the role of the salesperson, estimator, or customer service representative in the process. Admittedly, for certain products, it will reduce time spent in estimating, order entry, and monitoring the progress of the job as it goes through the process. Is that a bad thing?
How much value is added to the work we do in estimating, order entry, or job tracking? Even if someone were to argue that there is a significant value associated with those functions, what happens when your competition automates the process and makes it faster, easier, and less expensive for your customers?
After preaching the value of Web-to-print for years we have received many questions. Here are few answers: Yes, Web-to-print is a different way of working with customers than our traditional workflows. Yes, Web-to-print may remove some of the customer touch points from staff in sales, estimating, or customer service. And yes, not all salespeople or customers are going to like or want to use it because it is different.
For those customers who prefer the contact with their salesperson and/or CSR, they can take advantage of that option. That may mean that the customer calls and uses some verbal shorthand based on years of experience to describe the job and the changes that are required and that approach can continue and remain very valuable.
For other customers, however, it may mean that they want to log in and click a few buttons and log out. The printing process is becoming more automated and some customers are looking for faster and easier ways to get in and out of the process. As a result, there may be a loss of contact with some customers. Will that mean the end of sales or customer service? No. World-class sales people and CSRs are constantly evaluating and reinventing their value.
As the economy slowly recovers and companies start rebuilding and investing, the inevitable priority list will be created. Often the newest technologies—such as QR codes, inkjet presses, and social media—are considered the hottest technologies.
But as with the above concerns with Web-to-print, there are also concerns about those technologies. Inkjet presses cost millions and you need the demand to feed them. The success of QR codes is tied to the adoption rate of smart phones in your target market. And while everyone loves the idea of social media marketing, most experts agree that it works best as a part of a cross-media marketing campaign.
From the perspective of this workflow and digital technology guy, the answer to the question we asked at the outset is yes, Web-to-print is still a hot technology today. And if given a list of possible investments, it would on my list.
Howard Fenton is a Senior Consultant at NAPL. Howie advises commercial printers, in-plants, and manufacturers on workflow management, operations, digital services, and customer research.
