McCourt said savvy printers who harmonise their operations with new technologies and the environment, act on social media trends and recognise that they can do more with less, will be the printers still around in 2020.
During his presentation, McCourt dismissed claims by key figures such as media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that print is on its way out. He admitted there will be some changes in the expectations of print but said the industry as a whole would remain strong in years to come.
He says, “There is still a market for long run offset printing but admittedly it is declining. The majority of offset printers are going to have to take steps into digital or on-line campaigns within the next few years in order to survive.”
Representatives also heard that direct marketing (DM) held a huge number of opportunities for printers, and McCourt claimed that it was a common misconception that the DM was declining, or was only viable for companies with large data bases.
McCourt says, “Targeted, relevant, personalised DM is growing and – as shown by high response rates – is not regarded as junk mail but as a valuable information source. Also, there are thousands of mini databases in small to medium business, which are goldmines of customer contacts.”
Representatives were told to be more than just printers by spanning the gap between on-line and traditional print, getting ahead of their customers and seeing what other services they can offer print buyers, even if they have to outsource.
“Even if you are an offset-only printer, you can still offer added ‘e’ services without adding staff and resources,” McCourt says. “Email marketing, Personalised URL’s and viral marketing will all add response to the printed campaign and the more we can add to the capabilities of print the more value it has.”
Other business longevity solutions presented to printers included offering print audits to customers – incorporating all internal printers and external printing – in order to determine how much is being spent on printed communications and presenting print buyers with a new strategy.
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