You are who you compete against.

Who your customers have you compete against not only tells you a great deal about how you are perceived by that individual print buyer, but by other prospective customers as well. What shared characteristics do you think caused the print buyer to group you with those specific printers? Was it equipment, services, capabilities? Are you competing against the printers you would have chosen had you been the print buyer? If not, why not? Finally, and most importantly, if you think the companies that print buyers associate you with to compete against are inappropriate, what are you actually going to do to correct the perception?

‘Custom’ is six-eighths of ‘customer.’

Presswork expectations are different from print buyer to print buyer. The presswork that one customer may require might be rejected outright by another – like the limited edition artist pictured above. Also, each print buyer will have different priorities and expectations from one project to another. Today pleasing color for a flyer. Tomorrow hi-fidelity for an Annual Report. One size – or presswork standard – does not fit all. However, if you tailor your production workflow and presswork look to meet the individual customer’s requirements for the specific job at hand, you are no longer simply providing a commodity but rather becoming a valued partner – and you are also differentiating yourself. While you may not be able to charge any extra, your customer-centric capabilities may make the difference between your getting the project vs your competition.

High-end/Low-end

For the successful printer there is no “low-” or “high-end” – there is only one end: meeting customer expectations. They understand that if those expectations are not met, the print buyer will go elsewhere and eventually the printshop will go out of business.
It’s not about the printer’s priorities for the job. It’s not about how the printer perceives themselves. And it’s not solely about meeting a presswork specification. Rather, it’s about understanding and delivering on the specific print buyer’s success factors – their priorities. Shoes made with the finest materials, crafted with the best skills, have no value if they don’t fit the customer’s feet. Customers, and their individual projects, are all different – therefore the quality printer must have the flexibility to tune their production process, and its output, to fit their clients’ needs.