Profiling Today's Print Buyer

We want it fast & we want it online

The most commonly asked question when a project gets started is “When can I have it?” says Cordes. Dana notes that buyers are looking for “speed and efficiency, and more interaction online with their service providers. And they want solutions, not just orders filled.” 

Many printers have found that e-commerce offers one solution to the need for speed—but they worry about missing opportunities for relationship building. Don Parsley, Horizon Printing, knows the feeling. “Our response has been an e-commerce site that offers standardized digital products for purchase online,” he says. “Standardization and simplification. Good in some respects, but unfortunately it doesn’t allow us much opportunity to consult and truly help the customer get the most for their money, nor does it do much to build any kind of relationship and/or loyalty.” 

So how to build relationships while pursuing the speed and convenience of online buying? Try developing presentations with specific examples showing how purchasers can integrate new technologies like variable data printing into their marketing campaigns. “Personalization is a hot topic and on the rise,” observes Dana. “Carefully explain your VDP technologies and capabilities in terms marketers can appreciate. Let them know what you offer and the value it means for each customer.” Steering the discussion away from “just” printing can be a conversation starter…and order closer. 

Expanding opportunities to educate

Most printers agree that while in-depth knowledge of the printing industry is lacking these days, this can mean opportunities for educating customers…and the more buyers need education, the wider the doors open for printers. “Many times we need to explain process and techniques. It’s common to have to explain the file requirements and make suggestions on projects that might not work out the way the client is envisioning,” says Cordes. 

“An inexperienced buyer combined with a competitive market can be incredibly difficult,” says Parsley. “Sometimes buyers have very little patience for learning the process, and therefore often source the work inappropriately.” But how to educate them and what to say? Here are some approaches: 

• Provide buyers with information that explains processes and techniques. 
• Check out the extensive collection of articles on the Mohawk Blog, and the resources on Ask Mohawk that your customers and prospects will appreciate knowing about. As Parsley says, “Paper companies have an opportunity to do a great job educating customers. They’re often perceived by customers as being more trustworthy.” 

Cordes sums up the challenge: “In the past, printing was more behind the scenes, and buyers needed—and wanted—to know what they were buying and the way in which it was to be produced. Now we have clients who are just learning about print and its process.” 

“They love creative solutions,” adds Dana. 

Tips for Winning Orders from Today’s Radically Transformed Print Buyer:

• Pay close attention to your customers’ marketing departments
• Help buyers integrate your capabilities, such as VDP, into their marketing campaigns
• Improve your online presence and consider adding e-commerce
• Put resources in the hands of buyers to help them learn. There’s a wealth of useful knowledge in Mohawk MakeReady.