This article was first published in the September 2021 issue of Australian Printer, authored by Taylor’d Press creative print director Kirsten Taylor
There will always be an importance in the value of print, how the offering can be grown, and how traditional methods can be used for the industry to stay in the game. But most importantly, businesses need to understand their markets, know their clients and have the confidence that they can produce a product that equally reflects the expectation of their clients.
The past few years have seen printers assess where their markets are and how they can diversify or innovate. Many are adding new products to their existing offerings to keep up in a market that has seen decline in past years.
Label printing, packaging, wide format and fabric printing come to mind as areas that are thriving due to the kind of work they can produce, especially in the current market, which is a little bit of a rollercoaster as a result of the effects of the pandemic.
Depending on lockdowns across states and buyer confidence, some clients that have had healthy budgets in the past may now be tighter on their spending. We have also seen a down turn in the way that they place orders.
On the other hand, there are some other areas where we see clients who are coping well with the current climate have a healthy budget to spend on the luxury of speciality print.
The only focus Taylor’d Press has had in the past few years is survival. That looks different to everyone depending on what size business you have and what your profit looks like.
We are a small operation and our only chance of survival is to keep what we’re doing better. We continue to offer traditional offset print and finishings in that speciality market as we believe in a tangible product that offers that premium finish.
For example, our UP Banking mailer is something that is testament to this, giving a business with an online presence a strong and visual experience in the hands of their clients when signing on for their product.
Every business needs a forward-thinking strategy to add value in print – and a lot of it depends on the clients’ requirements and needs. If there is no ability to expand into technology that you feel will draw your customer into working with you, consider collaborating with the many talented businesses in our industry. You then have the ability to prove a larger offering to your clients and also expanding that offering to other business, creating a win-win for the industry.
Adding value in print is in the know-how of what you have, and doing it better. It’s our responsibility to understand how effectively we can run, produce and enhance the clients’ experience to work with us.
The value we add to our client is the experience of receiving a product that exceeds their expectations. This then translates into a positive experience for them, which they then recommend you to others.
For other printers, it may be that they can offer a whole suite of collateral – from stationery to large scale signage, product and packaging – so the client deals with only one supplier, therefore enhancing their experience.
But businesses should be mindful not to over capitalise. If you are feeling the pressure to diversify or move into different markets but you require the necessity of new technology, you better have a good understanding of your clients’ needs moving forward and the ability to produce the work to be able to make a positive change rather than one that will leave you worrying about the investment you have committed to.
At Taylor’d Press, we promote the work we do on social media and use this as our selling tool. You have to have a lot of trust in your brand and you have to be passionate about what you produce. This is always reflective in the work we deliver.
As such, if printers who can are willing to enhance their offerings by innovation can visualise their businesses moving forward with enhanced technology and they have the passion to grow, thrive and succeed with their vision, the future of print can only get better.
Those areas are going to depend on what size business they have, their ability to look to new and innovative ways and their passion to drive a sense of success in our industry.
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