[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Page Header” fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.2″ background_color_gradient_direction=”265deg” background_image=”https://sunnydirect.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/chair-background.jpg” parallax=”on” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” bottom_divider_color=”#ffffff” bottom_divider_height=”60px” bottom_divider_flip=”vertical” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label=”Hero Section” text_orientation=”center” scroll_down_icon_size=”48px” _builder_version=”3.2″ title_font=”Montserrat|on|||” title_font_size=”60px” title_line_height=”1.4em” content_font=”||||||||” content_font_size=”22px” content_line_height=”1.8em” subhead_font=”||||||||” background_color=”rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(26,214,253,0.89)” background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(29,98,240,0.7)” background_color_gradient_direction=”265deg” custom_button_two=”on” button_two_text_size=”16px” button_two_border_color=”#ffffff” button_two_border_radius=”0″ button_two_letter_spacing=”2″ button_two_font=”Montserrat|||on|” button_two_use_icon=”off” button_two_text_color_hover=”#6eba01″ button_two_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_two_border_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_two_border_radius_hover=”0″ button_two_letter_spacing_hover=”2″ custom_button_one=”on” button_one_text_size=”16px” button_one_bg_color=”#6eba01″ button_one_border_color=”#6eba01″ button_one_border_radius=”0″ button_one_letter_spacing=”2″ button_one_font=”Montserrat|||on|” button_one_use_icon=”off” button_one_text_color_hover=”#6eba01″ button_one_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_one_border_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_one_border_radius_hover=”0″ button_one_letter_spacing_hover=”2″ module_alignment=”left” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” animation_style=”fade” /][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.2″ custom_padding=”54px|0px|54px|0|false|false” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”650px” _builder_version=”3.2″ module_alignment=”center”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.2″ title_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” title_font_size=”30px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” meta_font=”|600|||||||” text_orientation=”center” /][et_pb_text admin_label=”Blog Post” _builder_version=”3.2″ text_font_size=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” text_line_height=”1.9em” module_alignment=”left” quote_font_size=”21px”]
“The value comes from the positive impact on their bottom line.”
In the first phase of my career, I spent more than 20 years and several progressions in sales and sales management working in the world of commercial print. For the most part those years were challenging and exciting. Hard work made personal and professional achievement a consistent reality. Many of us experienced a period of self-satisfaction as we grew as professionals and our companies grew and prospered.
“A vital component of any value proposition, requires the resources and ingenuity that will allow our customers to market their business with more impact and efficiency. The value comes from the positive impact on their bottom line.”
Our focus was on the 3 axioms of the time: competitive pricing, consistent quality and superior service. This was a golden period for the print industry. Now, years later, the 3 axioms remain in place. That reality will never change, however, as we reflect on the current state of our world of commercial print, just about everything else has changed.
Growth has been replaced by overcapacity and the emergence of sophisticated data and digital/electronic communication. The ability of our customers to reach out to targeted markets, literally in real time has become the new reality. Print producers have lost the luxury of extended production timelines. Changing expectations has intruded on the love affair that printers have long had with their equipment.
“While we certainly cannot abandon one of the basic linchpins of our industry, we must extend our thinking in ways that will provide an essential new offering – value!”
Obviously, equipment and production processes are still vital. The challenge comes when today’s processes become obsolete a year from now. We have always thought that state of the art equipment coupled with quality and service would carry the day in our marketplace. While much of this holds true today and tomorrow, the huge and perpetual capital requirements to maintain this ability creates a new set of very significant challenges.
For printers to service and yes, even prosper, in the face of these challenges, what needs to be done? I very much believe that a refocus is in order. While this is not revelatory, the emphasis of this refocus is worth strong consideration. Remember the value we have always placed on presenting superior service of our customers? While we certainly cannot abandon one of the basic linchpins of our industry, we must extend our thinking in ways that will provide an essential new offering – value!
To be clear, value does not represent the combination of pricing, quality and service. We don’t get off that easy. Value stands alone as the new given simply because our customers are demanding it. So what represents value in our customer’s world? It is simply presenting and offering solutions tied to their challenges.
A vital component of any value proposition, requires the resources and ingenuity that will allow our customers to market their business with more impact and efficiency. The value comes from the positive impact on their bottom line. To borrow a line from Field of Dreams – If you build it, they will come. In other words, if we focus on presenting and delivering value to our customers, opportunities to thrive will be there in the world of print. Stay tuned, more to come.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]