Quick Printing is the resource for the Commercial printing, visual and graphic arts industries. Since 1977, Quick Printing has focused on improving efficiency and increasing sales and profits in the print shop. Industry experts share their ideas and
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Association Insights 26 Quick Printing | January 2015 MyPRINTResource.com Andrew D. Paparozzi is AMSP/NAPL/NAQP senior VP and chief economist. Reach him at apaparozzi@napl.org or 201-523-6353. Association members receive the State of the Industry Report as a member beneft; non-members may purchase the report for $49.95 by calling 800/642-6275, ext. 6345. Delivering Value Is Key to a Healthy 2015 A s we begin a new year, it is natural to wonder what the coming months will bring. The AMSP/NAPL/NAQP State of the Industry Report, 12th Edition, released in December, projects sales to grow 2.5 to 3.5 percent in 2015, following the recent slow but signifcant growth of sales—up an average 2.5 percent per quarter over the previous four quarters through last September. Through September 2014, sales were up 2.2 percent for the year; during the same period in 2013, sales were fat. In its State of the Industry re- search, the association asked more than 325 printers three questions about the industry's outlook: § Over the next three years, what do you expect for the overall demand for print (all processes, not just lithography)? § What do you expect for print as a share of your company's revenue? § Which products and processes do you believe have the most growth potential (whether you currently offer them or not)? Their responses showed a cau- tious optimism. Slightly more than half (54.6 percent) either expected the overall demand for print to hold around the current level (46.6 percent) or to increase (just eight percent). The fip side: Four of 10 (40.5 percent) expected the demand regularly interact with clients to ask the right questions, get below the surface to fnd what clients really value, how they can be more import- ant to these clients, and what other services they can provide. Two-Step Process And, of course, no matter how good the quality of feedback is, it serves no purpose if it is not reviewed and acted upon. But evaluating client feedback is not always easy; clients don't exactly speak with one voice, and sifting through a large body of diverse information can be challeng- ing. The following process can help: § Step 1: Get to the core message by asking client-facing employees these questions about customer feedback: What positives did we hear? What negatives? What did we hear most often? What didn't we expect to hear? § Step 2: Defne the actions we can/ should take. We can't do every- thing clients suggest, so we need to evaluate suggestions carefully in terms of scale (the number of clients likely to beneft) and the investment (money and time) required. Actions that have scale and require a modest investment should be taken immediately. Those that would beneft only a few clients and require signifcant investment should be put on hold. All other actions require future evaluation. Maybe the few clients who would beneft are so important that it's worth taking action. Or, maybe the investment required has the potential to capture new clients or a bigger share of current custom- ers. But do not act on "maybes;" act only after further careful analysis. 12th edition of report projects sales to grow between 2.5 and 3.5 percent this year. By Andrew D. Paparozzi for print to decrease over the next three years, and six of 10 (62 percent) expected print to decrease as a share of their overall revenue. Solid Future How to remain optimistic (and prof- itable) in an era of shrinking print demand? Most companies said the answer is diversifcation, as they expected revenue from non-print services such as fulfllment, mailing, database management, response tracking, and web page design to grow faster than revenue from print. Many believe that the industry has a solid future with opportunities for proftable growth if companies follow the right strategic course. Company size, equipment con- fguration, ownership structure, or even services offered will not determine who succeeds. What is necessary is deciding exactly what kind of company to be by evaluating individual circumstances, resourc- es, and goals, defning a value proposition, and understanding what it really takes to prosper with that value proposition. Essential to this process is collecting and acting on client feedback. More than 90 percent of our survey group draws feedback from sales reps, CSRs, line employees, owners, and managers who are in regular contact with clients. More than three-quarters also conduct periodic business reviews with clients, and more than half hold educational events or conduct client surveys. To gain the kind of quality insight that shows how to be even more valuable to clients, respondents said they needed to collect feedback consistently and train those who