In the rapidly evolving print landscape those print businesses that are themselves moving forward and adapting to the new environment are the ones that will be best poised to meet the challenges and provide opportunities for their clients.
It is too easy, even for companies that have achieved success, to sit on their laurels and expect that things will carry on as they always have done, but for print businesses that is not an option if you want to grow your business.
National trade printer LEP has been one of the stand-out print businesses over the past decade, growing where others have fallen. Known for its commitment to lean manufacturing, three years ago it opened a new facility in Melbourne, mirroring its original location in Queensland.
It has pioneered the use of online ordering. Its customer base has grown consistently, and today the company is producing more print than ever before. However managing director John Bromfield is keenly aware of the pitfalls of complacency and is committed to driving the company forward.
For the last 18 months Bromfield and his team have been working on a complete rebuild and rebrand of the business’ proposition. Bromfield says, “LEP is not a me-too business. We have a clear differentiation between ourselves and other print businesses."
Bromfield says, “The rebrand is just a small part of the bigger picture, we are reorienting the company, if you do not change and move on you get left behind. It is no surprise to say it is a very competitive market, even in our sector which is a bit of a niche. We are repositioning and reinventing ourselves.”
“We are changing the logo, but what is behind that is a refocus of the business. We are moving into the new digital era of on demand instant business. In fact instant everything, we call it the take-away era.
“We have looked at the whole process, the whole proposition, the whole business model. We have drawn on the experience of our customers and our team to analyse and build, and now we are launching LEP as a completely customer oriented business. We no longer position ourselves as just a print manufacturer, we are a customer focused business set up to meet the needs of our customers and give them a service that exceeds their expectations.
“We have rebuilt our entire system from the ground up with new architecture, new platforms and created My LEP. A web to print and MIS system, an end to end solution that allows our customers to order and track 24/7.
“We are the only trade operation that offers net pricing; we do not include add-ons like freight. We are not a freight business, we allow our clients to choose their own couriers and their own level of service, to suit their customers. And this leads to price savings, for instance if a client orders eight sets of business cards with gross pricing it includes eight sets of freight charges, with net pricing they can pay just for one freight cost.
“Working in tandem with our systems LEP has a large customer service team, for anyone that just wants to discuss their print job or specific client needs, we want to always keep a human interface, and in fact we have expanded this further on the new sites with live chat, so customers can talk to LEP staff live and online”, says Bromfield, adding, “We aim to get closer to our customers and give them an unrivalled experience.
“In today’s world everything is wanted now and print is no different, we aim to provide an on demand service, our customers can have confidence in. Our lean manufacturing enables us to drive prices down, which means our customers –print shops, printers, brokers and graphic designers are getting a great deal, and if they are doing well, then we are doing well.”
Bromfield says, “Reinventing ourselves is not just a new website and new branding, we have lots of new ideas in the pipeline to be released over the coming weeks and months.”
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is becoming an increasingly important part of the printers’ arsenal, as the risks of investing in capital equipment in a volatile market weigh heavily on many print businesses.
Bromfield says,“My LEP provides a great service to print businesses. We produce and deliver a top quality print, incredibly fast and it comes at a great price, meaning printers no longer have to worry about the financial risk of getting another loan for a press.
Printers can have confidence in our track record, it means they do not have to produce everything inhouse. We know some printers have old habits which die hard, where they think they are not a printer unless they have a press, but in many cases they can now go down a different path, let LEP take the print, so they can focus on sales and customer relations to build their business. The new LEP is completely geared up to working with them to enable them to meet and exceed their goals.”
LEP’s new public website has been completely redesigned to reflect the new brand, and also provide LEP customers an unprecedented amount of information and helpful resources. And for the first time the LEP website is fully accessible from smartphones and tablets.
The updated site includes enhanced navigation and a revised content structure with the sole intent of delivering the same experience LEP gives to its customers when they order with it – it is fast, it is responsive and it is friendly.
Bromfield says, “Unlike our old website plenty of information regarding our growing product line, including our print options and stock choices can be found right on each product page. Plenty of resources such as our artwork guidelines and print templates are available there too. These pages prominently feature LEP’s forte range; Australia’s largest same day and next day dispatch product range.
“We needed to give customers an easier way to see LEP, its people, and our vision to partner with their print business. Hence, we have put a lot of effort into the site presentation, with photos, video and graphics so our customers get a real sense of who we are.
“Before we started work on our new website, we had already set out to evolve online trade printing with our new ordering system, My LEP (formerly LEP Online), which has been a year and a half in the making. It is the cornerstone of our business and its redevelopment is the biggest innovation LEP has done in years.
Visual identity
As part of its repositioning, LEP adopted a new visual identity to initiate the latest stage in its continuous evolution as the pre-eminent trade printer in Australia.
The new logo replaces its well-known four colour triple-octagon logo. Bromfield says, “The new visual identity is an up-to-the-minute reflection of LEP’s dedication to the use of new technology, and new print techniques, to produce the highest quality print products in timeframes that ensure its customers satisfy the expectations of their own clients.
“The new logo is a striking graphic representation of the company’s business vision. It features a contemporary circle that describes the highly technical nature of printing, and uses a colour palette enhancing the typography designed to represent speed and agility.
Bromfield says, “This new corporate hallmark puts the print industry on notice that LEP Colour Printers has no time for complacency. As the print industry takes on board new technology developments to meet the constantly changing demands of its consumers, trade printers have to stay one step ahead, in order to meet those demands.”
John Bromfield has been at the forefront of the drive to transform the company during that time. He believes the new logo emphasises the company’s ethos of rigour and innovation in everything it does. He says, “It is change or get changed out – a challenge that we have taken head-on at LEP.
The new logo is a recognisable representation of LEP’s highly responsive customer interaction through its online store, longstanding expertise in digital and offset print technology, and unparalleled job turnaround times.
“To thrive in this new digital world, where business moves faster than ever, we have set out to modernise and elevate LEP, our brand, our shop front, and evolve online trade printing. We are leading the change in trade print expectations, giving printers what they need to successfully fulfil their customers’ expectations,” says Bromfield.
“We have changed every element of the business to meet the demands our customers have created. We have done that through lean manufacturing, vibrant product and service offerings, and the fastest turnaround times in the country. We are now about to embrace the next transformation in our never ending journey of continuous improvement in print, that is a challenge which LEP relishes.” he added.
Bromfield believes that as printers become familiar with LEP’s new logo, it will remind them of the ongoing developments inside the company which are less visible, but nevertheless play a vitally important role in LEP’s strategic development as the leading trade printer in Australia.
“Our customers and their consumer needs are constantly transforming, Trade printing is constantly evolving technologically and culturally.
“We have started on this new journey by unveiling our new visual identity – the first of many changes. There is more to this than just an outside change at LEP, we have also changed how we partner and support our clients by empowering their businesses profitability.”
Bromfield says, “LEP is making a massive investment in the future as we have always done. The repositioning takes into account the new world in which we operate with its instant demands and the need for excellence in customer service and beyond.”
“These are exciting times for LEP, and for My LEP.”
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter