Expand Your Horizons: Adding New Applications to Expand and Retain Business 20 Oct 2009 Expand Your Horizons: Adding New Applications to Expand and Retain Business
By Larry Corwin, President, Rollem InternationalLaunching new products or offering an expanded range of services is a great way to energize your customer base and attract new business. This is exactly what Rollem International is seeing from Indigo and digital printers who are looking for an edge in today’s competitive markets. Many printers who have found substantial niche markets are finding new and necessary products to bolster their existing product offerings.
Whether you have a mature product that needs re-invention or you truly have a new product to offer, new offerings are always interesting, always instill curiosity and always draw the interest of the intended recipient.
With that in mind, why not consider some of the hundreds of other well suited products that Indigo and variable data presses can create? For example, you may be active with the production of postcards, so why not offer greetings cards? Or maybe you offer photo books as a primary use of your press when you could add mailing services. The list goes on.
If the cost of new product offerings worries you because it might require an investment, examine your options. Your variable data press is likely your most expensive investment to date. Therefore it is more than likely that your new product might only require an investment in a finishing machine, which is likely a small fraction of what you already have invested.
A good first step is to consider which applications you are best suited to expand into. For example if you have an interactive Web site where your customers can design their own products, you may wish to consider customer calendars, photo processing or greeting cards. If you already produce postcards and have experience with mailing applications, you may wish to consider a direct mail offering with more types of mailing forms and remittance options.
After you have identified the applications you would like to offer, find the companies that specialize in the finishing of these products and consult with them about your options, including production information and cost. It would not be surprising if you find the cost of expanded products is relatively low in comparison with the return on investment.
Engage Marketing Inc. is a Chatsworth, Calif.-based direct mail firm whose customer base includes political consulting firms, trade schools, casinos and marketing organizations. Finishing is important to Engage Marketing because their digital capabilities demand versatile equipment to deliver on-demand print ranging from direct mail to booklet making to short run point of purchase displays.
"We are primarily a direct mail firm – folding, inserting and maintaining sort integrity are core functions of our daily operations," said Tom Mackel, president of Engage Marketing.
Engage Marketing actively operates five inkjet addressing systems and their HP Indigo 5000 addresses while printing. "We use USPS’ IMB primarily for confirming mail tracking services," Mackel said. "Some of our customers have their own USPS mailer ID that provides electronic address update notification from our application of intelligent barcodes on their mail. We have a detached USPS mail verification unit in our facility to maximize USPS discounts through logistical drop shipments."
Mackel said that most of their work is advertising prints, and the company employs a Rollem TR to apply consistent scores and perforations for jobs. "The Rollem TR functions in a short-run environment, but delivers large hourly output when needed," Mackel said. "Our customers appreciate the quality greeting cards, response tear-offs and cracking prevention they receive from us."
Engage Marketing’s finishing equipment provides the flexibility necessary to correct demands that may be overlooked by outside print agencies. "It is a necessary capability to have in an environment turning over thousands of short run direct mail projects," added Mackel.
Once you have identified your new product offerings, market yourself as a specialist in that area. You will be extremely pleased with the reaction you get from your new customers as well as your existing customers.
Rollem International has been designing and building finishing machines for hundreds of applications for more than 80 years. They have assisted hundreds of printers in finding new and expanded products to offer and often at a surprisingly small investment outlay.
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