Are you waiting for a customer to demand / request interacting with you over the web before you implement a web to print solution? If a competitor reaches your customer first, who looks more innovative?
Are you playing offense or defense with your online strategy?
Have you said this recently?
“We’re going to wait until we find a customer to fund our web to print solution, then we’ll make the purchase.” DEFENSE
“Our customers are happy with FTP and e-mail” DEFENSE
The customer is always right – correct? If they aren’t asking for it then why should we bother with the investment?
“If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” - Henry Ford.
Your customers are asking for online options, they just aren’t using the ridiculous terms we make up to describe technology (e.g. web to print). Your customers want to transact with you in a more convenient way (saves them time). FTP and e-mail were better than phone calls and mailing disks but they are now considered manual/high touch interactions.
What does playing offense mean? You step out of your perspective and into the customer’s perspective. The customer has less time and is faced with an incredible new set of choices for communicating their message. Are you going to be the solution provider that makes print as easy to buy as online communication options? Can you extend your expertise to offer other forms of communication products in addition to print?
Agree completely – we see this all the time, printers telling us their customers wouldn’t use W2P and then being shocked when that same customer signs up with another provider who has offered them an on-line solution.
Love the Henry Ford comment
Excellent blog. We are seeing printers moving more to the offense.
Thank you. Its good news to see printers moving in the direction that gives them more power. Creating a strategy and then bringing that strategy to your customers is always better than losing a customer because your competitor introduced a better mouse trap before you did.
Marian,
Its a decision right? Do you want to lead or follow? Change is not comfortable for lots of people and if something works (FTP, e-mail) it makes it even harder to change. There are so many examples of businesses that “stay the course” and then wake up to realize that course isn’t a business anymore (e.g. printed encyclopedias, retail movie rental outlets, etc…)
I love the Henry Ford quote too because all of us try and comfort ourselves with the fact that we’re “listening to the customer” – do you think Apple is listening to the customer? We (customers) couldn’t dream up what they’ve delivered… I didn’t know I need 4 different Apple devices ;-)
“Our customers haven’t asked me for web to print” DEFENSE
http://www.Pressero.com
sciesemier@aleyant.com
Steve,
I think the trick is to get our heads out of print and ask our customers how they are procuring other services and what they like / don’t like about the way they procure those services? Frequently customers can’t make the connection that advances in the way they procure and interact with vendors in other categories is applicable to print as well.
Jen