Fixing the Local Print Business - The Biggest Target

 
It might be about the local postal store, franchise or independent.  Many years ago someone told me about a company (a start-up at the time) called Mailboxes, Etc. (now The UPS Store)  My original thought was, why use them instead of the post office?  I believed the business concept was flawed - I was way wrong.  Yes, many of these businesses are feeling the strain of the economy and being a franchisee, but the outlook for this group is very positive - just walk into one on any given weekday (especially after 2pm).  The question I have is - can the franchisors bring in higher margin products to more utilize their current foot traffic - and give the franchisee a chance to succeed?

Being a target market for LightsOn Graphics is the wrong phrase; it is much more a prediction. Postal stores provide a convenience that creates foot traffic and business in that it is hyper localized - one stop to send mail, UPS, Fed-X, get the boxes and packing you need to complete your mailing.  They have morphed from a post office box and shipping center to a business center providing copy service, document shredding, limited but critical office supplies, and limited emergency print (copies, business cards).  Just a side note - If you need shredding, buy a shredder.

Offering print and collateral marketing services is a natural expansion to their business; some would say they already do.  I tend to use Postnet in my examples because, not only are they in that postal store target bunch, but they also use a service that, from my research, provides nothing except the satisfaction that they can say, "we have an online print site".  No they don't, but that is just my opinion.  I have interviewed several small printers that use the same system - orderless (like zero) - they stretch to find value in something they pay for every month.  The system they use does provide marketing benefits and a few  convenience tools, but not sales.

Now that the market has been identified, we can start talking about the product and what makes LightsOnGraphics.com different (better) in both product and concept - see our forthcoming blog entries (or see an earlier taste - Fixing the Local Print Business).

In Review - Targets:

1. Postal Stores - because this is where the customers are.
2. Local Quick Printers with poor web presence.
3. Postal Store Franchisors Postnet, Postal Annex, Goin' Postal, etc.)
4. Quick Print Franchisors (AlphaGraphics, Minuteman Press, Sir Speedy)
5. Local Graphic Designers.
6. Vertical Market providers (newly identified)

Thank You For Reading.!.!

Bob

561-371-4113

Quality, and How it is Marketed and thus Perceived will Define Success.

There are many definitions of quality in business.  The ISO 9000 definition is the "Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements". "The standard defines requirement as need or expectation".

Quality is something a product has when it is reproduced the same over and over and over to a defined set of specifications.  Some companies maintain quality by producing the product in one place.  Some companies maintain quality with well defined and well engineered systems.

Consumers buy quality - they know what to expect because of the quality.  This does not mean that the consumer is getting a better product. or even good product; the consumer just knows what they are getting. Having a better hamburger is not enough to compete with McDonald's just as having a better print product is not be enough to compete with Vistaprint.

Followup on "Who Me, Who Three - Fixing the Local Print Business" Can the Local Printer Survive?

 There is an economy of scale that the local quick printer (franchise or independent) needs to have to survive.  Read my blog entry "Who Me, “Who Three” - Fixing the Local Print Business", it will provide some further background and insight.

The local printer's first issue is utilization of assets which means increasing it's business.  Since they have higher end and more capable equipment than the new competition (office product stores and postal stores), they have a bigger financial mouth to feed.  Reduced copy business revenue and traffic and then losing some of the higher end business to online printers has made this difficult and their future questionable. It will require some aggressive creativity for these businesses to continue as an ongoing entity.

The local printer needs to aggressively network to two groups, the graphic designer and the local postal stores and signing them up as partner/affiliates (sound familiar).  This will require very attractive commissions be paid to the partners; so attractive that they wont want to do it with anyone else.  As it is said in the venture capital business, "Do you want to own a percentage of something or 100% of nothing".  It's a strong argument.  This is one of those areas where I can tell everyone the answer, and for one reason or another (can't execute, too busy, don't have talents beyond retail, etc), its doesn't happen. Let's just say they need to begin to collaborate with each other more aggressively.

The franchisors should be all over this as they need to help (save) their franchisees.  BetaGraphics (our make believe franchisor) needs to do more than educate, but actually push their local franchise into partnering with local graphic artists and postal stores, basically offering satellite franchises (BizOps) and relationships to the local BetaGraphics.  These people are looking for a solution that the local quick printer has.

What you read is the why our business model at LightsOnGraphics exists.  A player needs to unify the fragmented local market or the local market will ultimately disappear causing everyone to lose; quality will suffer (as it already is) and prices will ultimately rise.

Bob Leonard
561-371-4113

“Who Four” - The Biggest Target - Fixing the Local Print Business – Part Four

"Who Four":  The local postal store, franchise or independent.  Many years ago someone told me about a company (a start-up at the time) called Mailboxes, Etc. (now The UPS Store)  My original thought was, why use them instead of the post office?  I believed the business concept was flawed - I was way wrong.  Yes, many of these businesses are feeling the strain of the economy and being a franchisee, but the outlook for this group is very positive in my opinion - just walk into one on any given weekday (especially after 2pm).  The question I have is - can the franchisors bring in higher margin products to more utilize their current foot traffic - and give the franchisee a chance to succeed?

Being a target market for LightsOn Graphics is the wrong phrase; it is much more a prediction. Postal stores provide a convenience that creates foot traffic and business in that it is hyper localized - one stop to send mail, UPS, Fed-X, get the boxes and packing you need to complete your mailing.  They have morphed from a post office box and shipping center to a business center providing copy service, document shredding, limited but critical office supplies, and limited emergency print (copies, business cards).  Just a note - If you need shredding, buy a shredder.

Offering print and collateral marketing services is a natural expansion to their business; some would say they already do.  I tend to use Postnet in my examples because, not only are they in that postal store target bunch, but they also use a service that, from my research, provides nothing except the satisfaction that they can say, "we have an online print site".  No they don't, but that is just my opinion.  I have interviewed several small printers that use the same system - orderless (like zero) - they stretch to find value in something they pay for every month.  The system they use does provide marketing benefits and a few  convenience tools, but not sales.

Now that the market has been identified, we can start talking about the product and what makes LightsOnGraphics.com different (better) in both product and concept - see our forthcoming blog entries (or see an an earlier taste - Fixing the Local Print Business).

In Review - Targets:

1. Postal Stores - this is where the customers are..
2. Local Quick Printers with poor web presence.
3. Postal Store Franchisors Postnet, Postal Annex, Goin' Postal, etc.)
4. Quick Print Franchisors (AlphaGraphics, Minuteman Press, Sir Speedy)
5. Local Graphic Designers.
6. Vertical Market providers (newly identified)

Thank You For Reading.!.!

Bob

561-371-4113

Identifying Potential Clients - Those That Have "Bad" and "Really Bad" Web Presence

The "Who's" have been identified.  For the local printer there seems to be only two types of web sites; "Bad" and "Really Bad".  The classifications are limited to printers, but since that is the subject of my white paper / business plan, it is here.  This is obviously going to sound self serving to LightsOn's business model, but identifying these weaknesses and niche / cracks in the market are part of any business and execution plan.

The "Bad"
Several large trade printers provide local printers with branded websites at little to no cost.  The local printer gets a good site that brands themselves.  The trade printer gets many local representations of their products. Why don't theses "Bad" websites work?

• Products are limited to what the trade printer supplies (the trade printer that provided the branded site for the local printer).
• The local printer has limited price control (None IMHO).
• Local printers buy from multiple trade printers.
• Branded sites do not help to promote service nor foot traffic to the local printer.
• Branded sites have failed for the local printer in the market place. 

The "Really Bad".
This one is kind of funny to me because many of these sites are only for the purpose of being able to say: "yea we have a website too" (IMO).  Actually, they are much more, but the much more in about preservation of business rather than growth and new business. Regretfully, when you are in defensive mode, and your competition is on the offense, there is only one direction for the ball to go (there are very few interceptions in business).

Sampling of their customer sites:
A PostNet Site

I am not sure where to begin - what I do know is, the printers that use this product are our target.  They so obviously want more.  I always tell them to ask themselves - Have you ever received an unsolicited online order?  - Not one where you told the customer to go there and upload their files.  Some local printers actually pay for this ....  and wow, I will be asking them all... "who owns your domain name?"

No wonder Vistaprint is winning.

bob

Who Me, “Who Three” - Fixing the Local Print Business – Part Three

Just in case you did not read the last blog entry, “Who Three” is the franchise local printer and the independent local printer.  Forget for a moment that this group is the second of the target markets as the obvious (IMO) is explained here.

Why does the local printer need to collaborate with printers in other local areas?  Then, why do they need to become part of the LightsOn network to do so?

The local printer can't compete alone with the online companies like Vistaprint, PSPrint, Over Night Prints, etc, etc, etc.  Why?  Very simply those companies have invested heavily in Pay-Per-Click and SEO marketing for their online sites.  Pay-Per-Click has lower cost of entry but has costs for every click through to your site.  SEO has high development and maintenance costs but minimal to no cost per click. Both are very complex and expensive and are a game of numbers.  In addition, when many many try alone, they simply end up being noise in the search.

The first step is to collaborate with other companies that are providing copy/print/graphic services; not only local to you, but local everywhere.  Regretfully, this is much more than providing a franchise website - just ask yourself how much business you get from that website; is ZERO the right answer?  Maybe this website thingy doesn't work.  Ask Vistaprint...

LightsOnGraphics.com has been built, from day one, as a site for collaboration with the objective of taking back and to stop the encroachment of that business that Vistaprint is taking from the local print service provider.  Our expertise in print, SEO and collaborative systems will make print local again and make you locally, the printer again.

The second step is to collaborate locally with other service providers.  Local printers need to recruit local graphic designers, web designers and advertising companies; there are many locally everywhere.  Make what you perceive as competition today, your sales rep tomorrow.  Collaborate with them a variety of products and services that let them make more money as well as you make back some of what you are currently losing.  This will take some proactive marketing, sales and networking.  Franchisors - make these non-retail mini-franchises (biz-ops) around your franchises - Please - Steal This Idea.!.!.!

Our objective at LightsOn is not to move your business to our website.  When a client calls you from the our LightsOnGraphics.com website (I include you in "our") we strongly suggest you provide the service and sell that customer directly, bypassing the LightsOn site.  Our objective is not to get your foot traffic, but to get the traffic you are losing to online.

Take a look at our affiliate information, how we protect you, your client and your territory.  We are taking back business, not taking your business.

Next, "Who Four" - why local postal stores may be the local graphics shop of tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading

Bob

561-371-4113

Fixing the Local Print Business – The LightsOn Solution – Part Two – "Who" is Invited to Dinner.

Previous blog entries have outlined the changing market, the problems (as I see it), and solutions with general business examples that were somewhat vague, non-specific and non-committal; this entry begins changing that.  As I always note, these blog entries are my white paper outline / business plan.

To be specific in our “how’s", "why’s" and "who’s”, we must define a specific “who” and then the “why” – Those are the easy parts; “how” is the magic part - I am going to pretend I have that answer too (No, I did not major in Dr. Seuss in college (RIT BS ’79 - - UnivDayton MBA '83).  Dr. Seuss's microscopic creatures were "whos").

The biggest obstacle to get over (common amongst all the ‘who’s’) is that they can bypass us and draw a higher gross margin (we pay 30%) – let’s pretend that is true, which if it mattered, I would argue, but it doesn’t. If the phone rings to one of our affiliates, we tell them, take the order and bypass the website – it is all about the service you provide.  Our objective is not to get your customer, but get the Vistaprint customer to come to you.  You will come to us most of the time as our program is ‘priced right’, but this is not the entry for defining this.

The Who’s

‘Who One’: Independent and Freelance Web & Print Designers.  This is by far the easiest group to identify and get to – the problem is, it is individuals, each one, needing to go through the learning and training process individually – remember, we are not selling a product, but a collaborative process.  Some of these ‘Who One’s’ just do design, some partner with a printer, some broker the work themselves and some (our favorites) broker through us.  By the designer affiliating with us, not only do they make the 30%, but they stand to get new clients as well being our local affiliate. The most important thing here though, is that they have made it easier on the customer, the print buyer, who now has one less vendor to deal with saving them time (and thus, money).  Remember, printing is a service business – sell service with the product – your client will love you more for it.

‘Who Two”:  Independent local printers, marketing and promotional product firms.  Much like the ‘Who One’s’, but typically have a larger base and physical location.  To be a Local Primary Affiliate / Partner, they must be at least this.  The best thing about this group is that they are happy with 30% of something (because they understand the ‘why’s’) versus 35%-40% of nothing.

‘Who Three’:  The franchise local printer and the local independent printer.  When I first conceived this concept, this was my logical and obvious 1^st choice – the problem comes with the bureaucracy of the franchisor, current UFOC stringencies and an attitude of defeatism (maintain business rather than get more).  This is a slow process, but will have one soon – they seem to understand the opportunity when we talk about mini-franchisees (our secondary affiliate) to their retail franchisee (our primary affiliate).  This is the only area when we may have an exclusive grouping, even though not an exclusive LightsOn affiliation.  These local print franchisee’s understand this and us better than anyone else.

‘Who Four”:  The local postal store, franchise or independent.  These businesses are winning purely on the market’s force, with little knowledge or expertise – and they are everywhere.  The only stores with more organic foot traffic are the Apple stores (but it’s Location – Location – Location).  I would venture to say, they are the water cooler of the 2010s – where busy (key word = “busy”) small business people pass almost daily.  Most, if not all, are already in the low end print business.  Just one funny note – I was in a postal store the other day (doing research) mailing a package and the client ahead of me requested EDDM help – He sent them to a local printer to get their brochure printed and said “come back when you have that and we will handle the EDDM”.  That customer never came back as the printer surely closed the loop and did the EDDM as well (many are today).  I shook my head thinking “box of rocks’…. Shame on the franchisor for inadequate / incomplete training (or simply not keeping the franchisees up-to-speed).

For more information about how the LightsOn Graphics affiliate program works go to www.LightsOnGraphics.com/affiliate_long/.

Blog entries (expanded insight) specific to “Who Three” and “Who Four” coming soon – Stay Tuned.

Bob