ILLUSTRATION BY ROSE WONG |
Instant Ink was “ an entirely homegrown success ” for the company , Sroka explains . It enrolled its first customer eight years ago , and today counts more than 11 million active subscribers . Instant Ink is one of a few businesses at HP that are seeing double-digit revenue growth year over year , according to data shared with investors at the 2021 Securities Analyst Meeting .
“ Instant Ink is the largest consumer service that HP has , and we developed the program from the bottom up ,” Sroka says . “ It ’ s proven that HP can transition from transactional to contractual relationships with our customers and bring innovation not just to the products we sell , but also to new business models .”
In 2022 , her division is piloting a few new models in select markets , including an all-inclusive Print-as-a-Service ( PaaS ) subscription and add-ons to Instant Ink in adjacent categories , such as paper .
Innovation spoke with Sroka from her home office in Los Gatos , California , where she lives with her three teenagers and explores the waterways of the Sacramento Delta in her downtime .
1 / What do you see as the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity for HP at this moment ? We now speak of individuals ’ work and personal lives as blended , especially those working from home . That trend is HP ’ s challenge and opportunity . We need to leverage our innovation engine to develop solutions to address this hybrid space .
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2 / What insights have you gained from the millions of customers who subscribe to Instant Ink ? We had a surge of new subscribers worldwide during the different lockdown periods in 2020 and 2021 , which tells us that people realize printing is essential in their daily lives . One takeaway from the pandemic is that our value proposition for Instant Ink is even more relevant in this “ new normal ” life . For example , we make it very easy for customers to change their monthly plans , or roll over unused pages for a few months as their printing usage varies .
3 / What kind of feedback are you getting from Instant Ink subscribers ? They really love the convenience of the service . I read the customer commentary and laugh — some say they feel like Santa has come to their front door every time they get their ink replenishment package .
4 / And on the flip side , what feedback prompted improvements ? Every cancellation gives us insights on what to improve . For example , we were seeing cancellations due to extended summer or winter holidays . So we implemented a temporary hold option , which people use if they know they ’ ll be either away from their home or just away from printing for a period of time . We had some customers experiencing overage [ charges ], and we realized we have some truly high-frequency users , so why not have a really high-page plan ? We now have plans that start at 10 pages per month and go all the way up to 1,500 pages per month . We also introduced a smart intervention tool so that if a customer is canceling , we
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find out why , and provide them with alternatives at that moment that could perhaps retain them .
5 / What is the thinking behind experimental offerings like PaaS ? How do we help our customers just “ set it and forget it ” so all their printing needs are met ? For a low monthly price , consumers will be able to select the printer of their choice with the page plans that Instant Ink has today . They will have the right to upgrade or refresh that printer at a point in time ; or if they have an issue with their printer , we will fix it or get them a new one overnight . The top reported benefit is the convenience of a single , all-inclusive subscription service . A second benefit is no longer having to shop for printers and ink .
6 / How can a service like Instant Ink help small businesses that have fewer resources ? We ’ re expanding the features of the Instant Ink subscription service to address small-business customers , especially those with newly hybrid workforces . Think of a company that has fewer than 10 printers and isn ’ t large enough to have a managed IT environment . We believe we ’ re going to unlock a whole new market opportunity that we haven ’ t been able to address .
7 / What surprises you most about your job ? The concept of Instant Ink is so simple , but the technology and ongoing innovation required to deliver the service are complex . Behind the scenes , we have a global , cross-functional team who work closely together to make this happen each and every day . I enjoy stitching those efforts together , making sure people feel connected — and we manage to have some fun , too .
— Sarah Murry
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HP / INNOVATION / SPRING 2022 9 |