When Loyalty Leads to Laziness
For at least six years, I've taken the same step class at
my gym each Sunday morning. I like my teacher as a person and respect her
skills. Occasionally, I've even socialized with her and a few other classmates.
I'm used to her routine. I can do her steps in my sleep
and know her music by heart.
But I don't even break a sweat. Four weeks ago, I got so
bored that I couldn't stand it any longer.
So I found a new class and a new teacher who challenges
me and makes me work hard. It's an hour much better spent.
This other woman's been teaching there for years - but I
never checked her out! I didn't want to be disloyal.
The same is true for print buying. There's a danger in
becoming too comfortable with your current print provider/s. If you
don't challenge them (and yourself) by checking out other printers, maybe those
offering new technologies, you could be coasting along with no improvement to
your print campaigns year after year.
How do you know that another service provider can't offer
you better solutions, or faster delivery times, or better pricing?
How do you know that your work can't be ratcheted up a
few notches to create a bigger buzz for your company? I don't know a soul who
doesn’t want more bang for their buck.
Back in my days as a buyer, I grew attached to many of my
print reps. I enjoyed working with them. I didn't have to explain myself, or my
company's idiosyncrasies, job after job and year after year. You could say I
bought printing on autopilot (don't tell my former boss, Phyllis).
I'm not suggesting you dart from firm to firm, like a
serial print buyer. There's value in sticking with your printers for the long
term. You reward those who provide great products/service. You have more clout
as a long-term customer. You might get better pricing. You might get
unbelievable service in every nuance of this weak word.
Then again, your favorite printer might be like my gym
instructor: fun to work with, but offering no measurable value.
You will never know unless you look around from time to
time. Check out other printers and service providers. Even just meeting with
them and learning what new options are out there is a valuable exercise. You
may find out that your current printers offer everything you need - and
more. At least you've done your homework.
Loyalty, generally speaking, is a virtue. But the
same-old, same-old print sourcing routine can lead to laziness if you refuse to
break a sweat and put some effort into researching your alternatives.
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©2009 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. Your
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from the author.
Post or view the
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to last week's Tip, "Color Me Conflicted"
Just click on the
comments link.
Relevance through Reinvention
4th Annual Print Buyers Conference
November 3rd - 5th,
2009
Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center
Westford, MA
| November 3rd |
Advanced Print
Buyer Boot Camp |
9 - 5 |
| November 3rd |
Boot Camp for
Print Reps |
1 - 4 |
Conference Proper
| November 4th |
Conference
Sessions & Sponsor Displays |
8 - 5 |
| November 5th |
Conference
Sessions & Sponsor Displays |
8 - 1 |
Sweet Deal for Print Customers Who
Register by August 1st
This year, we have the best deal in town for
buyers who register by August 1st:
EXTRA Early Bird Special: Register by August 1st and
you will get the Member rates (knocking $80 off your Conference fee) AND get
six FREE months of BPB Membership ($100 value).
Current BPB members who register by August 1st get an
additional six FREE months of BPB Membership, too.
We will open our Conference registration very soon. Expect
an email blast announcing it.
Sorry, this offer is restricted to print customers,
not service providers.
Conference Program: Best in Class!
Our 2009 Conference sessions and speakers are as
follows:
-
Secrets to Staying Relevant as Print
Production Professionals (Margie Dana, PBI)
-
TweetStuff: A Hands-On Introduction to
Social Media Success (Dianna Huff, DH Communications)
-
Driving Value for Your Company (4
print buyers share insights)
-
The Characteristics of a Sustainable
Printer (Gary Jones, PIA)
-
Critical Trends for Printers and Print
Buyers (Frank Romano)
-
Critical Trends in the Paper Industry
(Sabine Lenz, Paperspecs)
-
Break It to Me Gently, Dr. Joe! Print
& the Economy (Dr. Joe Webb)
-
8. Integrating Print in Your Social Media
Campaign (TBA)
-
Buyer Roundtables: Multiple Discussions
on Timely Topics.
-
The Recession Solution: Why This Economy
Is Your Career's Best Friend (Dr. Paul Powers, Ph.D.; dinner
keynote)
-
Professional Social Networking: How to
Leverage Facebook and Other Social Networking Tools (Peter Muir,
Bizucate)
-
Megatrends in Digital Printing (Gavin
Jordan-Smith, Xerox)
-
Dissecting the Perfect Production
Partnership: Buyer, Creative & Printer take the stage
-
Bridging Between the Technical and the
Creative: Dazzling Varnish Techniques (Daniel Dejan, Sappi)
-
Changing Dynamic of In-House Ad
Agencies (Bill Fox, Fidelity Investments)
-
Virtual Tour of the Museum of
Printing (Frank Romano)
NB: We reserve the right to change the program.
Reserve Your Space at PBI's Print Buyers
Conference and Save $300!
You are cordially invited to reserve exhibit
space at our 4th Annual Print Buyers Conference this November is suburban
Westford, MA.
There are only 30 spaces available. We have already sold 9
of them.
The cost is $2200 before September 15th and $2500 after that
date.
Spotlight on Sponsors!
We couldn't have a Conference without our
Sponsors. New this year: we are honoring different Sponsors weekly in our Tips.
Please support them!
www.mprint.com
Table #18 |
MicroPRINT is a provider of Premium
On-Demand Print and Marketing Solutions. From personalized direct mail and
fulfillment to short-run books & manuals, we combine technology with
over-the-top service. Everything is a rush? You never have to apologize for
that. It's what we do! |
www.riponprinters.com
Table #12 |
Ripon Printers provides
environmentally responsible print solutions to direct marketers and publishers.
We feature fully integrated services from premedia through printing, binding,
fulfillment and distribution. Whether you want to reduce cycle time with a
soft-proofing solution, increase response with personalized print or lower your
postage costs with CoDistribution, you'll find the tools and collaborative
approach you need at Ripon Printers. |
Want to be honored in this way? Reserve your space today!
Please visit www.printbuyersconference.com
to sign up. An
Exhibitor Prospectus is there as well.
If you have more questions about our Conference, please
write to info@printbuyersinternational.com.
Job Searchers
We have a few new resumes posted on our
web site this week at
www.bostonprintbuyers.com/jobbanklistings.html. Don't
forget: if you're a print buying professional looking for a job, feel free to
upload your resume to this page. Instructions are on the site. There is no
charge. We want to help.
Join Us on
LinkedIn
If you are a print customer, we invite you to join our Print
Buyers International Group on LinkedIn. We have nearly 300 members already,
growing daily! It's a great group where you can share your ideas and post
questions. Go to www.linkedin.com and search on the Group name.
Unfortunately, this is a Group for buyers only at this time.
Thanks for understanding.
Weekly Print
Buyer Poll
Has your firm's print production staff been
reduced this year?
-
No.
-
Yes.
-
We've added staff!
Cast your vote on our home page at
www.bostonprintbuyers.com.
Last Week's
Poll
Our last poll asked buyers this: How often
should prospective printers contact you?
Poll Results:
| 4% |
Weekly |
| 13% |
Monthly |
| 41% |
Quarterly |
| 13% |
Annually |
| 29% |
If I say I'm not interested, I prefer they don't call
back. |
Margie's
Upcoming Speaking Gigs
-
On September
14th, Margie will co-present a Print Buyer Boot Camp!™ from 9 to 5
at PRINT 09 in Chicago with Frank Romano.
-
On September
15th-16th, Margie will Chair a Two-Day Print Buyers Forum at PRINT
09.
Register for
PRINT 09 sessions at
www.print09.com/Attending/Register-Now.aspx.
-
On October
14th, Margie will present a two-part "Understanding the Print Buyer"
session (8 - 9 am and 9:15 - 10:15 am) at the Print Solutions 2009 Conference
& Expo at the Navy Pier Convention Center in Chicago. Details at
www.printsolutionsshow.com/conference_education.cfm.
Print Tips
Archives!
Our
Print Tips
archives are public. Access them from the home page of our site
under
Print Tips at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.
BPB Sponsor Directory
Take a look! The BPB Directory offers firms a unique online
presence for their prospective customers. Interested? Visit our
sponsor information page for details.
Become a Site
Sponsor and "Travel with the Tips"
Have your logo
appear on our site and emailed out to thousands of people worldwide each
week at a very reasonable rate. Email us at
info@bostonprintbuyers.com for
details!
We do not sell or
rent our email list. From time to time, we send notices of other organizations'
events in which we participate and which we feel are relevant to our audience.
Be assured these emails are NOT from any outside sources. Our name
is always
at the bottom of such emails.
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