On Demand: Some First Day Key Scribblings in the Margin You Should Know

"Make dust or eat dust." I heard that line awhile back and it couldn't be any truer than it is today. Although cost is always an important metric, as Infotrends reported here, and it's apparent as you weave in and out of the OnDemand booths, many are looking for more effective, multichannel ways to communicate with their prospects and existing customers (see my blog yesterday on Konica Minolta).  As noted in Charlie Pesko's Keynote address, State of the Industry Address: From Megatrends to Microtrends, and sundry supporting Infotrends docs, if service providers are going to keep up with changes in the graphic arts communications market, not only will they have to strive for greater efficiency, more importantly they MUST demonstrate their (industry) knowledge and (marketing) skills. They must extend themselves beyond print services to supply chain management, multichannel communication, and specific vertical markets.  With changes presenting growth opps and challenges to meet market needs, the emerging service opps for PSPs seem to be value-added services (especially mailing and fulfillment whose familiarity loans itself to an easier transition), web-to-print, content management (ah, this one is finally catching up to PSPs and PSPs are catching on to the immense revenue opps here), 1:1 variable data (personalization), and multichannel marketing campaigns (what I spoke of two years ago as building the intent to be able to dynamically message through print, digital and online media, or a relevant combination thereof; today tagged as new generation marketing/publishing - a vital area of product development for PSP's publishing customers).  As noted in presentations and reading here, deployment of these services requires major transformation of the business model, organization structure, and skillsets of service providers - something I consistently read about in reports generated by my colleagues and friends, NAPL's economists, Andy Paparozzi and Joe Vincenzino.  Yesterday, when thinking about this blog, I spoke with and swapped emails with a couple Infotrends folks and then took a look at their new multi-client study where they mentioned the top three future purchase items being: 1) color digital print hardware, 2) computers servers, and 3) network hardware.  Many respondents also noted plans to increase marketing efforts via the creation of more dynamic (frequency of content change - what I hammer into people's ears as the invaluable "delta" of relevance that will keep folks coming back) websites, increasing of personalization (which needs to be more sophisticated and parallel human behavior -something I learned from my days developing a dot com called Travelocity), e-mail blasts, and web-to-print technology.  Also mentioned in presentations here and bolstered by the multi-client study is improving overall efficiency by using Lean Six Sigma, right-sizing staff, investing in software and programming, creating an integrated workflow, and increasing focus on soft proofing.  See a pattern here?  Just look at how the language of tech and hard and software applications has and continues to permeate our industry, not unlike any other industry, to help us with sustainability and growth, to help businesses, as one respondent quoted "to offer lots of services under one roof and retain repeat business with 80% of your customers."  Business is indeed evolving, and it's quite evident at this event that smart commercial printers are embracing the changes and they are in the path or getting in the path to "make dust."

Richard S. Papale