Photos courtesy PIP Burlington
These examples of educationrelated projects were created
by PIP Printing & Marketing
of Burlington.
Getting into Verticals:
Education
Learning is the first step for taking your company to school. By Howard Riell
P
roftably serving the education vertical at either the higher or
lower level is frst and foremost—ironically—a matter of learning: who to talk to, how to get to them, what they need, what
they can afford, what they can do on their own, and how you
can make life easier.
"If someone thinks he knows all about
it, then he doesn't know enough," insists
Bill English, president of Superior Business
Solutions in Kalamazoo, MI, which has
handled many personalized marketing
campaigns for colleges and universities.
Politically Connected
"Probably the first skill set would be
to be politically adept inside the academic institution. It's a very politically
active environment, let's just say that,
in terms of who knows, prior relationships. Consultants who are involved in
the marketing of these institutions carry
a lot of weight. You don't want to be
on the wrong side of any of those kinds
of guys." Even identifying and gaining
access to those people, however, "can be
difficult sometimes."
Superior's approach is direct: provide
relevant data "and you don't spend a lot
of money needlessly. It's all about ROI.
That's our story, and it works for many
places," English points out.
The other integral factor is the institution's end game concerning the students
it is trying to attract and the necessary
messaging. "We want to build documents that reflect that adequately. We're
all about variable data print."
Gaining that background can be tricky,
English concedes. Obviously, an existing
relationship with someone in the development or admissions areas would be
the first option. "Each of those areas has
trade associations that commonly get
together and share all the latest thought
on what's going on," he notes. "That's a
good place to be, as well."
Make it Count
A school poster comes off a
Duplo finishing device at the
North Kansas City Schools'
in-plant print shop.
Photo courtesy Konica Minolta
24
QUICK PRINTING / May 2013
Education "just like everyone else, has
been hit hard in this recession," notes
Judy Brumley, co-owner of PIP Printing and Marketing Services Burlington,
based in Burlington, NC. "They have lost
much of their federal funding for scholarships, so their budgets are lean. People
also can't give to their schools like they
used to, so be ready to get very creative
with your pricing." The best approaches
to marketing, she adds, aren't hard to
figure out. "Referrals, cold calls; give
examples when you go in."
The types of print work that are typically needed in the education field,
according to Brumley, include everything from commodity print and both
w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m