What Are Print Buyers Really Looking for In A Print Provider?

What are print buyers really looking for in a print provider? You’ve probably heard of the saying – you can have it good, fast, or cheap, but not all 3. Proving that saying wrong is the goal of every print buyer.

But you’ve probably noticed that the print industry has evolved beyond this simple equation.

The relationship between those who buy print and those who sell print has expanded as marketing needs and print capabilities have grown more complex. So, let’s go beyond good, fast, and cheap, and look at the qualities that businesses are paying attention to when they search for a print provider.

More Than Print

As marketing becomes more sophisticated and the competition in the printing industry increases, printers are starting to expand their area of expertise and modernize their organization.

Many companies that have been providing print for decades are starting to rebrand themselves. They’re making the big transition from “Print Provider” to “Marketing Solution Provider.” The reason is fairly simple: the demand is changing. As the world becomes more interconnected and traditional means of advertising start to be replaced by omni-channel marketing, brands and marketing agencies need to adapt. Which means printers need to adapt.

This means branching out into other value-add offerings like advanced web to print platforms that simplify many marketing tasks and bridge the gap between marketing and sales. Although print will always be the bread and butter of print providers, times are changing.

The Intangibles

Any form of Business-to-Business relationship is ultimately going to be driven by price, speed, and quality. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the intangible factors that you won’t find on a customer account spreadsheet.

Consider customer service as an example. Those that go above in beyond when it comes to being available, helpful, and proactive when working with their customers are always going to stick out in the minds of the decision makers.

Intangibles in B2B relationships add up. When your customers are deliberating who to lean on for their next big project, they will of course look at the numbers to determine which provider makes the most sense. But they’ll also be asking themselves: who is going to make the process smoother, easier, and less of a headache? And who will go above and beyond the bare minimum?

Another Perspective

Sometimes, when print industry folks talk about the future of the print industry, it becomes easy to get the sense that “everything will be different.” Printers will become marketing solution providers. Competition will be all about the value-add services. Everything will be digital and connected and omni-channel. These ideas have truth in them, but they don’t represent the whole picture.

According to a 2017 print buyer survey¹, 84% of respondents have no interest in “additional services offered.” That means that at least as of three years ago, price, speed, and quality still remain overwhelmingly the most important factors for print buyers.

As important as it is to look ahead, adapt, and innovate, this should never be done at the expense of your core service: producing high-quality print at competitive prices.

The Complete Package

So, what are print buyers really looking for? It turns out, they’re looking for the complete package. The world of print marketing has come a long way in the past few decades. Some things have changed, other things have stayed the same. The competition is at an all-time high and printers who want to stand out need to hit all the marks: high quality, reliability, good customer service, innovative technology and offerings.

What that means for you depends on what your organization looks like. Are you known for providing reliable, fast results but haven’t seen as large an increase in the market share as you’d like? Maybe it’s time to start expanding into new verticals and offerings. Is your marketing pulling in a ton of new business but you’re missing out on the bigger accounts and long-lasting, cornerstone business relationships? Maybe it’s time to get critical of your customer satisfaction, communication strategy, and proactive problem-solving. With business around the world still moving slowly due to COVID-19, now might be a good time to consider what your company is known for doing well and what parts of this complete print providing package you could improve in.

Citation:

1: https://printmediacentr.com/2017/02/13/2017-print-buyer-survey-results-color-quality-consistency/