Margie Dana

A Tale of Two Buyers

Not all print buyers are created equal. Some deal with book manufacturing, or magazines, or other specialty products. Their resources, production technologies, and business issues are unique to their particular printed product.

Most of the buyers I know buy general commercial printing. Sheetfed and web offset. Digital printing. They produce all kinds of materials and often handle the mailing and fulfillment as well.

Different print specialties aside, print buyers can be divided into two distinct groups: new buyers and experienced buyers.

There's a huge gap between them, and I don't care how much information they get from their printers or from books, new buyers will learn the most valuable stuff from other buyers who've been there and done that.

Many issues are best resolved by consulting your peers. Issues like negotiating with printers, conducting/analyzing RFPs, sourcing print and related products, beefing up your resume and/or job description, evaluating printers in other countries, finding/evaluating software to help you manage your print buying, and how to deal with problem personalities - all of these issues, and many more, are the types of problems other buyers can and will help you with.

How do I know? Because I get such questions constantly and have done for over 10 years. New buyers inherit jobs every day, it seems. They need guidance and support. There is no better resource for them than seasoned buyers.

As an event producer for buyers, I can say with 110% certainty that much of the attraction of these events is that print customers can meet their peers. Professional relationships develop, and pretty soon information gets shared that helps educate the newer buyer.

Resources to help foster these buyer-to-buyer relationships are few. It is why we just launched our Print Buyer Forum at www.bostonprintbuyers.com/pbforum. Print buyers need such an opportunity - to ask specific questions of anyone who has an answer.

This Forum is open to everyone. It's on the public side of our site to encourage use. Already, two different buyers have identified large-format resources. Buyers are quick to refer service providers they are proud to work with - and this is what it's all about. (So if your customers love you, they will definitely refer you to their peers.)

The new buyer is also the reason behind our new program called Print Buyer Boot Camp!™ Not everyone is ready to jump into the technical issues of, say, analyzing a PURL campaign or selecting a web-to-print provider. New buyers need to learn the basics first: what kinds of printing are there? How do they differ? How do they find and evaluate printers? And what about paper - what should they know?

The difference is marked. In fact, our 3rd Annual Print Buyers Conference (see below) will have sessions developed for new buyers as well as sessions more appropriate for senior buyers.

If asked to say one thing to sales reps about print customers, I'd say this: there's a world of difference between new and experienced buyers. Know who you're dealing with and be prepared to communicate with them at their knowledge level. Don't overwhelm new buyers, and don't underestimate the experienced ones.

©2007 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You're free to forward this email to friends and colleagues: please do! However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.

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January 15th New Year Networking Party in Boston! Open to Everyone!

6:00 to 8:30 pm
Millennium Bostonian Hotel

Join us for cocktails, dinner, and an interactive networking activity on January 15th in Boston to kick off the New Year. Seating is limited, so register online today at www.bostonprintbuyers.com/events.

BPB Members pay just $35; others pay $65. Add $10 at the door. Tell your colleagues. Come meet old friends and make new ones!

3rd Annual Print Buyers Conference - Better in Boston!

Hold the dates for '08:

September 10 - 12, 2008
The Sheraton Boston Hotel
Boston, MA

September 10th: Print Buyer Boot Camp!™ (full day)

September 11 - 12th: Two full days of Conference and Exhibit Hall

Interested in exhibiting? Let us know at info@printbuyersinternational.com.

Job Posted

Development Marketing Purchasing Specialist needed by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA.

For details on the above job opening and to apply, visit our Job Bank.

Members can post jobs for free! Others pay just $250 for 4 weeks.
Visit our Job Bank page.

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.

A few Conference Photos