Don’t Just Win the Job, Win the Customer
January 2004

Graphic arts companies are always on their best behavior when they’re trying to win a job. Yours is probably no exception. Does your prospect need help with a layout? No problem! You’ll happily dole out as much planning advice as they need. If they would like to see a pre-production sample, you’ll get them one as quickly as possible.

Be honest: Do you keep that cuddly attitude once you’ve turned that prospect into a customer? Unfortunately, not every company does. For example, a printer client of ours told us that a post press services supplier of theirs recently informed them that their proofs would be returned to them “by [expletive] carrier pigeon”.

While no company’s customer service should sink to those levels, it can be easy to take regular customers for granted. How you and your organization behave after you’ve won that first job is a key factor in whether you keep a customer for the long haul.

Industry Fact: Industry analysts continue to weigh in with estimates of formidable growth in the foothold of digital printing. According to research firm I.T. Strategies, by 2007, 239 billion pages a year are expected to be digitally printed in color. By comparison, nearly 212 billion total pages were printed on narrow-format ink jet and color EP printers in 2002, about 50 percent of which were color. The 2007 estimate of 239 billion color pages represents 59% of an anticipated total of 403 billion digitally-printed pages.  Source: Graphic Arts Information Network (www.gain.net)

P.S. - A great way to reinforce the mental connection between your company and a job well done is to associate your company’s name with solutions that make them look better. A steady flow of useful information to customers positions you and your company as reliable experts. Don’t have the time or resources to keep such a program going? It may be a good idea to hire an expert to create and distribute useful information to customers and prospects on a regular basis.

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