Chicago Chronicles
Print distributors look to reinvent themselves with changing times.

By Krista Scarlett and Kristin Quinn

Who Are You?
Peter Colaianni, CAE, executive vice president of PSDA, scanned the ballroom during the Opening General Session and Annual PSDA Membership Meeting at Print Solutions '09 held Oct. 13-15 in Chicago. "The quote of the day seems to be 'It's a challenge out there,'" he said. The Who's classic song "Who are you?" played in the background. "As we emerge from this recession, how will you answer the question - 'Who are you?'"

With 1,356 attendees, 243 booths and 186 companies exhibiting, the theme of the show was just that - redefining your business to thrive during the recession. Incoming PSDA President George Crump said today's challenges and changes can lead to more learning opportunities. "There's an upside to periods of challenge and crisis," he said. "Setbacks become opportunities to come back even stronger. Education and learning are the keys to success in today's market."

While the recession cast a shadow over the conference, it didn't rain on the parade. Instead, conference and show floor education sessions were filled with enthusiasm about topics such as the rise of social networking and digital media. Lori Shaw, chief financial officer at documedia, Irvine, Calif., attended the conference for the first time. She was excited to learn about Twitter and other social media networks and how to use them at her company.

Carey Dunbar, vice president of EHC Inc., Westerville, Ohio, was excited to attend a show floor education session about QR codes and learn how this digital technology could be applied to her business. "I haven't thought of uses for it yet," Dunbar said, "but I can think of a dozen people I could go and pitch the idea to right now."

Sandy Preusz, general manager of Creative Dataproducts, Greenville, S.C., said networking with others who share similar industry problems was enough reason for her to attend this year after attending the Las Vegas show two years ago. "It's great to finally put a face to people I've done business with or have spoken to before," she added.

The biggest conference buzz was generated by optimistic approaches on how to evolve from a traditional print provider to a provider of marketing solutions and other added services to give customers more while working with less. While print remains supreme, several speakers and attendees noted that just selling print alone won't cut it in today's marketplace. Instead, the focus should be on proving yourself as a solutions and ROI provider and implementing services that combine print and nonprint media as a total package for your customers.

A Distributor By Any Other Name
The key to becoming a marketing services provider is understanding your client's company leadership, building a brand for that company and explaining how you can help them achieve what they and their customers need, said Peter Winters, president and CEO of Winters Group & Associates, Chester, N.Y., during the VIP Series Education session, sponsored by Ennis and Glatfelter. First, Winters said companies must be willing to adapt and make changes. Then, learn to sell to chief marketing officers. Winters said printing should be the least expensive part of a project; everything else is where the money should be spent. This includes developing functional asset management programs to establish 2-way dialogue between clients and customers, syncing data, evaluating finances, determining how to build a brand for that company and explaining what makes a solution different.

Winters recommended spending about 10 hours preparing before a sales call. He suggested looking at the company's annual reports, CMO messages to shareholders and impact of the company's sales to learn as much as possible before calling. Winters said the call should be a 20:80 ratio - 20 percent of time spent speaking to your client and 80 percent spent listening. Print is a "throw-in" for what they need, he said. It's understood that it's included. "What's most important to the company is everything else you can offer to manage the account," Winters said. "Just moving the needle a little bit (to increase ROI) makes a huge impact."

Margie Dana, founder of Print Buyers International, hosted "Understanding the Print Buyer," a conference education session in which similar conversation took place. "The print buyer role is being transformed," just as the print distributor role is, Dana said. So, how should distributors market their services to the more than 23,000 full-time print buyers in the U.S.? Dana warned the audience that the term "print broker" carries a negative connotation, while the term "print distributor" isn't recognized among print buyers. Several hands shot up in question. "So, what are we supposed to call ourselves?" one distributor asked. Others responded with terms such as print specialists, marketing and solutions providers, multimedia providers and marketing service providers. The reaction from Dana and the rest of the audience was positive, as Dana said these titles better reflect the added value that distributors have to offer.

A Fresh Twist
Print Solutions '09 kicked off with two new events. A "three-hour tour" of Chicago-area printing facilities was held the evening of Oct. 12. Participants boarded a bus to each location, where they were greeted with food, drink and friendly tours. The first stop was Data Management Center's new facility, where guests learned about the company's SAS-70 certification for data security and archive library of more than 40 million images. The second stop was Team Concept Printing. Here, guests scoped out the facility's Xerox iGen3 and HP Indigo. The last stop was C.E. Printed Products, where participants saw envelope presses in action, producing 30-60,000 envelopes per hour.

Another unique addition to Print Solutions '09 was Printer & Supplier Education Sessions, held Oct. 12 and 13.  During a session titled "Steering Through the Next Phase of the Print Industry," Laureen Chudzinski, director of business development strategies service at InfoTrends, Weymouth, Mass., spoke about market realities and the shift from traditional to digital printing. She said digital printing is the only segment of the industry showing an increase, up nearly 300 percent in terms of establishments, with employment in the niche up 250 percent. "Change is a very difficult thing to face," Chudzinski said. "However, change also means opportunity."

Direct Marketing
"No matter what type of marketing piece you do, the first thing a customer sees is 80 percent responsible for the success or failure of the piece," said Larry Mersereau, president of PromoPower, LLC, Clive, Iowa, during his conference education session, "Successful Advertising Strategies" on Oct. 14. "People are not going to work to read your marketing piece. If they have to work, then they're gone." Both Mersereau and Peter Ebner, president of Peter Ebner Seminars Inc., Richmond Hill, Ontario, held sessions addressing how to improve direct marketing pieces and achieve better customer responses. Here's their advice:

• Existing and new customers should receive different envelopes, Ebner said during his session, "Direct Marketing Applications That You Can Sell To Your Customers" on Oct. 13. Existing customers will recognize the company's identity on the envelope, but a new customer will not.

• Always end a sales letter with a post script. This is your last chance to add any extra opportunity for a sale.

• "A poor response form can kill an effective letter," Ebner said. It should be short, to the point and easy to fill in. Include "Postage Free" on the envelope.

• Keep it simple and avoid industry jargon. "Don't use language your fourth grader doesn't understand," Mersereau said. "A confused mind always says no."

• Mersereau's "magic formula": Grab the customer's attention; promise a benefit; prove you can deliver that benefit; motivate the customer to act; and make taking action easy for the customer.

• Avoid leading with low prices. Mersereau said customers will always demand super low costs. Instead, promise excellent quality, on-time delivery and stick with your base rate.

Show Floor Education
Throughout the expo, attendees gathered at "idea exchange centers" for small roundtable discussions on various topics. At a discussion on cutting costs while improving services led by Joel Chyke, president of FISI, Nashville, Tenn., business owners discussed ways to save money, the difficulties of making cuts and how to determine where to make them. Chyke said when it comes to making these decisions, "If you've been thinking about it for two to three months, it's probably something you should've done six months ago."

In his session "Effectively Using Email Marketing to Grow Sales," Joel Goldstein, president of Goldstein Group Communications, Solon, Ohio, stressed the importance of never sending emails from your own personal domain. Blacklist will block your account for sending mass spam emails. Instead, he recommended using third party email marketing software, such as Constant Contact or Exact Target, that are recognized by Blacklist and won't get blocked. "Whatever you send must help your customers do their jobs better," Goldstein said. "If you're there to promote your agenda or sell them something, then it's not relevant to them. If you have something that can give them what they need, then it is."

Recognitions
Recognitions were given by outgoing PSDA President Mike Fisher, CDC, at the Opening General Session & Annual PSDA Membership Meeting Oct. 13. Fisher recognized four retiring PSDA board members and told an anecdote about each of them. He recalled long phone conversations with Greg Gill of Performance Press Inc., Apopka, Fla., and referred to Acculink's Lindsay Gray as a "big-sky thinker" who always considers what's best for all PSDA members. Fisher recalled a time when former PSDA President Bob O'Connell of Vanguard Direct swayed a vote from 12 -1 against him to 13-0 in his favor in only 30 minutes. And Fisher described Appleton's Mark Richards as a "process guy" who thinks out every word before speaking and then delivers it with respect.

O'Connell also received the 2009 President's Award for his significant contributions to the business printing industry. Fisher described Vanguard Direct, New York, as one of the most progressive companies in the industry. The company's offices were destroyed Sept. 11, 2001, yet they continued to serve customers in the weeks that followed. Fisher described O'Connell as "a big believer in giving back to an organization that has served him and his company." He said O'Connell was critical in the rebranding of DMIA to PSDA.

Joseph Walkup, president of Innovative Business Products, Nashville, Tenn., was presented the 2009 Member of the Year Award for his outstanding contribution to the progress of PSDA. Walkup has worked in the printing industry since beginning an after-school job at 14. "I'm a big believer in being a worker bee," Walkup said. He is very active in planning PSDA Small Distributor Summits and says his favorite thing about PSDA is the friends he has made. Fisher concluded the recognition portion of the ceremony by stating, "It is my sincere hope that all of you will join me in keeping PSDA the viable association that all of us know and love."

An Optimistic Industry
Keynote speaker Dr. Joe Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics & Research Center, cut right to the point. "It's been a difficult year," he said. Webb then shifted his focus to what is coming in 2010, "We are having a media revolution," Webb said, adding that the industry is witnessing the death of advertising media. There are now more workers in public relations than in graphic design, Webb said. "The new strategy of advertising and communication overall is to saturate the entire marketplace."  Media is headed in the direction of integrated, multichannel communications - an opportunity to be embraced by the printing industry, Webb said. "Any time you see discontinuity or things that don't make sense in the marketplace is when entrepreneurs want to jump in instead of running away," Webb said.

Despite the sea change, Webb surveyed members of the print industry for their 2010 expectations and received optimistic results. "We have a very optimistic industry and part of being an entrepreneur is having an optimistic streak," Webb said. "You must." Webb also discussed ways that business owners can adjust to inflation and the struggling economy.

Kevin Sailer, co-owner of Pro Forms, Bismarck, N.D., said he plans to adjust his income statements to inflation after hearing Webb's speech. Sailer attended the show this year for the first time as an owner. He and his wife, Cheryl, purchased Pro Forms about a year and a half ago. Previously, Cheryl worked at Pro Forms in sales, while Kevin was a stay-at-home dad and helped out at the company part-time. For Kevin, attending the show was an opportunity to meet manufacturers in person and learn more about sales. "Nothing beats meeting someone face-to-face," Sailer said. "I wanted to get my face out there so that when they call me, they know who they're talking to." Sailer said he found the conference education session "Selling has Nothing to do with Selling" particularly interesting. In this session, the audience learned that instead of trying to sell customers, salespeople should reverse the flow of information to find out what their needs are and solve their problems. "It reemphasized how we already do business," Sailer said.

View pictures from the event.