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someone understood and conveyed its
benefits and made the first sale… and
probably sold a lamp to go with it!
Incentive programmes don’t just sell
themselves. Too often, expensive
motivational programmes are overlooked
in practice because employees either
don’t understand their value and/or are
unsure how to promote them. Many
times, good campaigns are written off
as having missed the target, when, they
just weren’t rolled out and managed
properly or to the right customer.
Printers must take great care when
designing motivational incentive
programmes. Take a page out of the
‘Sales 101’ book that says, “Find out
what they want, then give it to them!”
But make sure to keep it simple,
keep it clear, promote it properly,
reward immediately and do not try to
target everybody.
Networking:
Do you belong to a chamber of commerce,
board of trade [BOT] or any networking
group? Outside of the fact that there are
always networking possibilities in
attending membership meetings and
making contacts, have you thought
about taking your networking strategy
to a new level? For example, I belong to
a BOT that gives me the privilege of
attending any BOT or chamber meeting
taking place in York Region. Each month
our chapter meets in a corporate location
hosted by one of our members. We have
met in small insurance companies, real
estate branches, credit unions, and yes,
printing shops. In fact, this month’s
meeting is hosted by a print shop member.
It is free to get company owner / members
to meet at your establishment. It creates
an opportunity for you to showcase your
products, services and your unique
value-add. It gives you an opportunity
18 | May 2019 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
to enlighten them on changes to the
printing industry and highlight the fact
you are on the leading edge of said
changes. And, it gives you an incredible
opportunity to roll out your newest
incentive programme for ‘corporate
members’ in a captive business setting.
Is that worth a case of soda, a couple
bottles of wine and a few cookies?
Know Who You Are:
As already stated, the printing industry
is more competitive today than at any
time in the past. With aggressive
systems-of-influence at every turn, too
many printers are lured into the
seductive need to be all things to all
people. Sage advice from Confucius
posits that, “Man who chases two rabbits,
catches none!” Too often, printers feel
the need to have all the newest in tech-
nology, which comes with a big price /
investment. I’m not suggesting you
shouldn’t remain current in contemporary
technology. I am, however, promoting
the logic that any financial investment
must meet the strategic needs of your
corporate ‘unique value-add’ and, the
established needs of your larger loyal
clientele. I am also not suggesting your
products and services be limited in any
way. It’s no secret that many smaller
print shops are agents for higher-end
or specialized enterprise printing solu-
tions, already equipped with high-end
systems. Logic again suggests part of
the profit is always better than no profit
– especially if someone else is doing
the work. Knowing who you are and
being equipped to do what you do best,
sets you up for more profitable sales.
Having an established relationship with
specialized printers or design-houses
allows you to offer a wider array of
printing solutions, without financial
investment and in which you remain
in control of your customer's relationship.
Customer Relationship:
One of the most under-rated and cost-
effective tools available to printers that
drives sales, is the relationship you have
with your customers. Put more simply,
it’s the ‘human factor’. Ask yourself,
what business are you in? What are you
selling? Is it paper and ink or, ease-of-mind
through superior products and solu-
tions? It’s not uncommon for business
owners and employees to concentrate
too much on what business expert
Michael Gerber referred to in his best-
selling book, “The E-Myth Revisited”- the
‘mechanics’ of the business operation.
To only concentrate efforts on the
operations of the business is to compromise
the importance of good customer
relationships – the lifeblood of your
corporate success.
It’s important to remember that the printing
business is still a tactile industry. The
products themselves are naturally tactile
but what I’m talking about is the tactile
nature of the buyer/seller relationship.
Simply put, it's the act of ‘glad-handing’
(Definition: “… greet or welcome warmly
or with the appearance of warmth”). To
keep the customers you have and to
get more, you must bring emotion to
your marketing: the human factor.
Understand that in this most competitive,
changing industry, what hasn’t changed,
is the human medium. Galvanize yourself
to the fact that the quality of the relation-
ship you have with your customers is
something that you can still control, and
‘it’ becomes the dominating factor in
your unique value-add stratagem that
sets you apart from your competition. It
engenders deep loyalty and drives
greater sales – and it’s FREE!
Think about this: have you ever walked
away from a company because you were
unhappy with the way you were treated?
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