1. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
The Surprising News about
Today’s Print Buyers
Margie Dana
Founder, Print Buyers International
About Margie
!! Former corporate print !! Book author, Print
buyer (15+ yrs) Buying Made Simple
!! Publisher, Margie’s and Put It on Paper!
Print Tips, weekly e- !! Leading source of
newsletter, since ‘99 buyer trends,
!! Founder, Boston Print motivations, practices
Buyers, now Print !! Columnist/blogger for
Buyers Int’l (PBI) Printing Impressions
!! Producer of 6 annual !! Speaker, consultant
print buyer conferences
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2. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
Services
o! Web site audit & consult
o! Content generator (AKA writer)
o! Sales team educator & motivator
o! Analysis of promotional materials to
improve effectiveness
o! Development of customer communication
strategy
o! Speaker
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My job
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3. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
Freshest of research
6th Annual Print & Media Conference,
co-located with Graph Expo 9/13 – 9/14
-! 100 sr.-level attendees, 25 states
-! Breadth of industries
-! 2-day program with 16 sessions
-! Daily Brainstorming session, most valuable
content
-! Program reflected mix of relevant issues
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Who were they?
!! Sr. Project Manager !! Ass’t Dir./Prod. Mgr,
!! Production Manager Creative Services
!! Manager, Strategic Sourcing!! Sr. Art Director
!! Sr. Print Buyer !! Buyer
!! Assoc. Director, Product !! Production Analyst
Quality !! Production Coordinator
!! MarComm Procurement !! Dir., Marketing Production
Specialist !! Print Channel Specialist
!! Production Specialist !! Comm. Manager
!! Marketing Coordinator !! Project Manager
!! Sr. Manager Procurement !! Print Buyer
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4. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
…and more titles
!! Manager, Marketing !! VP Marketing
Projects !! Senior Print Buyer
!! Manager, Bus. Services !! Custom Media Solutions
!! Digital Media Specialist Business Manager
!! Production Analyst !! Director, Marketing
!! Graphic Designer Production
!! Creative Services Mgr.
!! Communications Project
Leader
!! Inventory Buyer
!! Director, Marketing Projects
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Who they represented
!! Colleges/universities !! Design groups
!! Publishers !! Educational testing
!! Insurance/financial services !! Automotive manufacturing
!! Manufacturers !! Medical nonprofits
!! Retailers !! Coffee roasters
!! Casinos !! Printers
!! Restaurants !! Ecommerce printers
!! Scientific !! Cataloguers
!! Food markets !! Nonprofits
!! Clothing retailers
!! Pharmaceuticals
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5. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
Audience traits
!! Very experienced (9+ yrs)
!! Some part of Marketing – Relaxed group
but not all discussion…
!! Very little uniformity or
standards in corporate titles No better way to
!! They represent the universal gauge mood,
“society” of print customers challenges, key
!! Very willing to share issues of this
information with one another unique market.
!! Do not tend to throw printers
under the bus.
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Are their glasses half empty/full?
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6. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
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Steel yourselves…
I smelled
Hope
in Chicago.
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7. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
Lo & behold! Print matters.
!! Itremains their #1 marketable skill –
and they are very proud of this.
!! Volumes are down – but not out.
!! Hungry for more print education.
!! Need help in answering, “Why print?”
!! Print’s their first love. Wanted no
part of being steered elsewhere.
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What keeps them up?
1.! Ability to articulate why print should
be selected in media mix, and why
it’s a green choice.
2.! Keeping current w/print technology.
3.! Selling their own value upstream in
an effective & consistent way.
4.! Sourcing unusual products or
products new to them.
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8. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
What are non-issues?
!! Printers as MSPs (Marketing
Services Providers)
!! Obsessing about the demise of print
!! Sweating the small stuff – like their
job titles
!! Being victimized. They are in print to
stay.
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What do they want? Printers who…
!! Educate me & my staff on new technologies you
offer
!! Educate me when I’m unsure of my options
!! Have my back when I don’t think through these
options
!! Represent me more than your company
!! Make me and my company look good
!! Understand my company
!! Are confident enough to offer suggestions on how
to improve my specs
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9. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
…and printers who
!! Give great customer service
!! Treat me as an important customer
!! Keep me up to date on the latest technology
!! Bring me ease & peace of mind
!! Above all aim to make my customers happy
!! Who are consistent in quality, service & pricing
!! Who understand my distribution process & quality
needs
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We have a duty to this market
Help print customers educate
their marketing colleagues &
managers about the ROI, value
& sustainability of Print.
We need to educate them first.
We need to prove that Print isn’t
Evil or necessarily pricier then
e-media.
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10. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
Status of 2011 print buyers
Hungry for tech education? !
Hungry for multi-channel strategies
& implementation help? !
Hungry for newest print technologies? !"
Hungry for ideas to impress managers? !"
Hungry for education on sourcing &
evaluating service providers? !
Hungry for more educational content
on your sites? !
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How to earn their business
Publish educational content
regularly:
"! Emails
"! Blogs
"! Articles
"! Newsletters
"! Videos
"! Educational sessions
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11. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
10 action items for printers
1.! Make listening to customers a priority.
2.! Make sure your database of customers &
prospects is current, accurate, maintained. Get
customers’ OK to send them informational emails
or corporate blogs.
3.! Get sales & service reps to document
customer issues (complaints, file problems,
knowledge gaps). Recurring topics # fodder for
content: blogs, newsletters, web stuff.
4.! In 3 months, using those topics, develop a
short list of educational sessions or webinars.
Survey customers about interest and delivery
preference.
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Action items for printers
5.! Commit to sending customers a monthly e-
newsletter. 75/25 balance of info/promo.
Produce a schedule of topics, assign work
internally or hire a pro. Need not be long.
6.! Create a corporate Facebook page. Make it
someone’s responsibility. Develop your FB
strategy and build out the content.
7.! Create a corporate Twitter account. Make it
someone’s responsibility. Develop your Twitter
strategy and build out the content by (in part)
repurposing content from newsletter, emails, FB
content. Use Twitter to establish your
expertise.
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12. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
Action items for printers
8.! Develop a prospecting protocol. Researching
someone’s industry must be #1.
9.! Compile written descriptions of new and/or
innovative technologies, equipment or
services. Don’t presume customers understand
processes & benefits. Again, more fodder for
content you can repurpose in blogs,
newsletters, emails, articles. Make sure
customers get this information. Make dept. heads
responsible for documenting these processes.
10.! Review your web site for content, images,
overall personality. Is it an accurate online
presence of your firm? Is it stale or current?
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A printer’s web site in 2011
"! Who’s who
"! Social media buttons so
visitors can connect
"! Current equipment list in
plain English
"! Your blog
"! Customer newsletter –
short & sweet is fine
"! News items
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13. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
As opposed to this…
"! Petrified news items
"! Photos of equipment or
buildings & not people
Obscure content !
"! Hidden leadership
"!
"! Total absence of
educational content
"! No newsletter
"! No blog
"! No glossary
"! No “how-to” tips
= NO REASON TO LINGER!
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Printer’s Content Calendar
Daily Twitter, FB post, LinkedIn
Weekly Blog post
Monthly eNewsletter
Quarterly Magazine (mailed)
Annually Update web site
As needed News releases
Bonus points! Videos
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14. Margie Dana at
2011 Print Management Conference
The penultimate slide
- What have I said that surprised you?
- Do you recognize any of your customers in
these trends?
- What is your first step to serving these
common customer needs?
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Thank you! Get in touch.
Margie Dana
mdana@printbuyersinternational.com
www.printbuyersinternational.com
Sign up for Margie’s Print Tips on our site!
118 Arlington Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617/730-5951
Twitter.com/margiedana
@margiedana
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