Ask yourself. Do I still have the same good loyal clients I did three years ago? Being a purveyor of print comes with the ups and downs akin to a farmer who hopes there’s going be enough rain this season to put food on the table. The difference is the time poor printer works with so many different clients, suppliers, staff and has to manage a very busy print business.
Have you looked around our industry lately? I'm not originally from the print industry. So looking in from a designer’s perspective, it seems that we all paddle our own boat when it comes to ‘my print business’. Everyone waiting to win the next job or hoping to win a competitors client over on quality and service.
The reality is the industry is getting smaller. And yet among competition we will continue to drop our price for whoever asks just to win that job. I wonder how long you will be able to juggle the discounts against rising overheads? Why hasn’t the industry adopted a recommended pricing for certain standard jobs?
With the many trade printing hubs throughout our industry, I think it makes sense to utilise these services if you need to reduce manufacturing overheads. Outsourcing is smart business.
In 1989 I started a graphic art business. This year will be 25 years. What a journey it's been. Letraset for headlines. Bromides, film separations and 130 line screens. To see that finished printed product gave me a tingle in my belly. I loved that feeling. I still do. Getting in to printing was exciting.
Having now run my own successful print shop doesn't make me a printer. It defines me as a designer with an appreciation for quality print. It’s only when the market changed and clients didn’t need as many brochures that things started to get interesting. It was time to focus on improving and maintaining the customer service experience.
I always look for ways to streamline and reduce overheads. I have found a handful of quality printers who are happy to take my volume of trade work and deliver on my service and quality expectations. My bottom line is profitable. I keep working on what else can I do to reduce overheads to become more profitable, even exploring mergers and acquisitions.
Surely if I can create more capacity in my business, I can take on more clients. So naturally, my next step is to streamline the way I communicate with my clients with the implementation of an online, in the cloud estimating system, online ordering for consumers, and online business client portals and asset management. That’s what clients want, systems, service, quality and the right price.
What are you doing to improve your bottom line this year?
Rocky Cassaniti is the owner of Valley Edge Design Centre
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