Spring is in the air…well, not really. Much of the country is still consumed by sub-seasonal temperatures, and even spates of snow as Mother Nature gives us a little attitude. But as the flowers blossom and allergies kick into high gear, this time of year is always one marked by cleaning and changes. And this is as true for that lower-level bathroom as it is for a dealership’s product and service offering.
As part of our April State of the Industry spotlight on light production printers, we canvassed our panel of industry dealers to get their take on potential growth opportunities within the markets they serve. Part of that spring cleaning entails taking a fresh look at existing accounts to see where light production print opportunities may exist.
Barry Simon, Datamax
Barry Simon, president of Little Rock, AR-based Datamax, believes the best opportunities for profitable growth lies in identifying outsourced marketing material in commercial accounts and providing efficient, short-run customized output for print-on-demand materials with high-quality, in-house production.
“Education of the primary account managers is the key to discovering opportunities that drive this demand,” he said. “Also, securing the larger commercial print accounts which drive the higher volumes proves your ability and builds your billing revenue. The Japanese manufacturers finally developing higher speed presses to compete with Xerox, Kodak and HP have also enabled us to address the demands.”
Lauren Hanna, Blue Technologies
The solution world holds the key to profitable growth at Cleveland-based Blue Technologies. Lauren Hanna, production manager, sees productivity and different workflow solutions providing an entry point for Blue Technologies, whether it be for in-plants or commercial printers. “It’s all about how are the printers getting this business and how can they make sure it is recurring,” she said. “We need to get inside that client’s space and figure out their exact workflow to help them retain and grow their business.
“The same goes for in-plants. It’s about learning their different initiatives and implementing software solutions to help make that print shop more productive.”
Looking at opportunities from a verticals standpoint, A&B Business Solutions of Sioux Falls, SD, is targeting the health care and print-for-pay segments. Joel Running, senior vice president for business development, notes that with all the government regulations and insurance requirements, there is high demand from the CRDs.
Joel Running,
A&B Business Solutions
“Print for Pay in our area has just continued to grow at a phenomenal rate,” he said. “We’re getting into different accounts and finding out about their workflows. We have an insurance company account with our Rapid City, SD, location—which is a different vertical for us—but one we’ve learned how to get into. We’re talking to them about having print on demand and not needing to send everything out, so they can have their quality work done and be able to turn small jobs around rather quickly. Doing it in-house is better than paying someone else money to print their jobs.”
Marketing materials is a strong cornerstone argument for developing in-house printing capabilities, and Running notes that the last three light production printers A&B had sold at the time of this interview were not obtained by CRDs, but rather by businesses wanting to have print-on-demand ability.
Sean Sullins, Prosource
The health care, financial and legal verticals are a prime source of growth for Prosource of Cincinnati. While there is some print erosion being experienced, there are a number of prospects who are bringing back previously outsourced work in an effort to better manage costs. That opens the door for more MIFs being placed with in-plants and CRDs. Prosource is also banking on Konica Minolta’s ongoing growth in the light production space to be a catalyst for its own growth expansion.
“In our segments, we have a great market share for MFPs that are not production print, so the big opportunity is really getting deeper and wider inside of our current customer base,” observed Sean Sullins, senior vice president of sales. “(Customers) may have production equipment today that is not from Konica Minolta, so a lot of the capabilities that Konica Minolta has brought to market has allowed us to get in with those types of accounts and showcase their equipment and the quality comparisons.”
Ted McLeod,
Gordon Flesch Co.
For many dealers, one of the keys is establishing themselves in the market from a production print standpoint and elevating their game with quality service. Ted McLeod, manager of print solutions for the Gordon Flesch Co., notes that creative marketing is driving much of the demand that the Madison, WI-based dealership is seeing today.
“Digital marketing is obviously important in today’s business environment, but companies still need to print materials,” McLeod said. “The ones that are taking advantage of the newest technology are seeing impressive results.”
