Here's a summary of a piece we created based on our interaction with many struggling print shops. See all 10 tips...
Small and Quick Print Shop Survival Tips
Live in the digital age – There’s no future living in the past. The printing process, market, customers and competition...
Know the competition – Digital technology enables your competition. Electronic media competes...
Be careful about commodities – Products are commodities when only price and delivery drive the buying decision. Competing for low-price...
Forget the “magic bullet” – There’s no software, hardware, gadget or gizmo that will miraculously improve your business. If there were a magic bullet...
Use small & quick to your advantage – Large competitors are limited to offering cookie-cutter products and solutions. Leverage your knowledge...
Head for your blue ocean – A thousand print shops go out of business each year because they were swimming in a red ocean. Understand why...
Break the rules for products & services – You’re in the communications solutions business: printing is just one of your tools. Skip convention...
Embrace data (information) – Data is crucial for your customers: communicating, analyzing audiences, spotting trends, etc. Simply talking...
Market your print shop – Customers can't buy anything from you if they don't know you exist. Market your print shop to make it easy for potential...
Make selling fun – Selling commodity print work is painful. Selling communication solutions like a consultant, however, can be fun. Learn...
We value your feedback. What would you add, delete, change?
Let us know what you think...
In the business world, spending all your energy selling and
competing against the same products and services offered by everyone else is
called a “red ocean” strategy (it's not really a strategy anyone would choose). Red…the color of the financial ink or something
else red in the waters of the marketplace. Red…because it’s a zero-sum game -
your financial success comes as a result of another’s financial loss - or vice
versa. Red oceans are full of sharks. Can you hear something like rapidly pulsing beat from
Jaws in the
background? We’ll give you the shark repellant later.
The typical smaller print shop or quick printer swims in a
red ocean populated by an ever-increasing number of sharks. If you don’t
recognize the sharks, here’s a partial list of everyone wanting some or all of your
customers’ printing business:
- Office supply stores,
- Mailing stores,
- On-line print providers,
- The new print shop or franchise across town,
- Local and national marketing agencies…and more
And, the red ocean concept applies to more than ordinary
printing. There are sharks for wide format printing, banners, signs, web sites,
promotional items, door hangers, email stuff, etc. It’s usually good business to
be different from the competition, however in a red ocean, it’s hard to…have
the lowest price, the fastest delivery, the most convenient locations or hours,
the broadest or best set of offerings…it’s hard to be the best at anything.
The solution is to find unique and valuable
products…stuff your customers want but few or no people offer. Then, you can
spend your energy growing your market…that you monopolize…rather than fighting
with the sharks. Moreover, if your unique and valuable product happens to tie
into printing or communications, then a potentially large portion of your red
ocean may turn a more attractive color…blue!
Now, for your shark repellant - data! Most of your sharks
can’t do data!
Think about it - data is at the heart of all of your
customers’ communications… data makes your customers’ communications possible…data
makes your customers’ communications valuable…data is what your customers want
to get from their communications…data…data…data! Data ties into many types of
printing and virtually all types of communications. Data can take you to a blue
ocean!
Call us if you need swimming lessons.
