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The diversification of print services is an ever-evolving process with companies adding increasingly innovative solutions to the ‘What we do’ sections of their websites. However, in the wildest wanderings of their imaginations, most printers would consider the purchase and supply of inflatable bananas as beyond the realms of likelihood. Nevertheless, Pureprint provided exactly that service for Fair Trade Fortnight, along with all of Fair Trade’s other production requirements, including t-shirts, coasters and mugs, through its sister company The Glasshouse. It marked the company’s transformation into a one-stop production solution and demonstrated a highly successful way of growing a print business.  

However, diversification doesn’t necessarily mean a move away from print altogether, nor does growth necessarily mean a move away from existing clients. Flexibility, bespoke customer solutions, client relationships and new technologies are all key elements that can grow a business, with both existing clients and new ones. What has to be remembered, though, is that the economic recovery is still somewhat shaky, so caution and balance are the key watchwords if you are to avoid the dream of growth becoming a bit of a nightmare.

And a nightmare is how many printers may choose to describe the past 24 months. Many firms have reduced print spend to cut costs and print has obviously suffered as a result. Even the success stories that emerged from the gloom, such as PrintWeek Company of the Year ProCo, admit that it was a real test to keep progressing in a tough market.

"The recession did cause increased pressure and, although we faired well, it still required a great deal of focus for us to get through it," reveals sales director Jon Bailey. 

Print is perhaps a fortunate industry in that it is well-placed in the supply chain so that employing a tighter focus on the offering and what customers are demanding can mean problems can be overcome. Pureprint director Richard Owers certainly believes this to be true, even in the toughest times.

"The print market as a whole is possibly static," he argues. "However, it is still a very large market and so for most printers, if they have customers who are reducing their volumes, there are still plenty of opportunities to replace that volume with other and new work."

Keep your friends close
It’s the question of how you go about assessing and chasing those opportunities where a number of answers become viable. For Welsh magazine printer Pensord, the first step is ensuring the relationship with your clients is as good as it can be, as this will mean that contracts are not just retained under pressure, but can also be expanded. It was this that helped Pensord grow by 10% in 2010, according to managing director Darren Coxon.

"If your clients are well looked after, achieving a good quality product and good value for money, then you are able to maintain a very high percentage of business when it comes under pricing pressure from a competitor," he explains. "You can’t stop a publisher from responding to a low-cost pitch from another print company, but what you can do is build a trusting relationship with a customer and when you have their trust and respect you will always get the opportunity to retain the business."

The key to this relationship, and to maintaining and building new business, is knowing what the customer is asking for on an ongoing basis. This means constantly talking to clients and the market to spot the trends and find out how businesses are adapting to the current financial situation so that the printer can, in turn, adapt to fit those new requirements.

Jason Cromack, chief executive at Lateral Group, believes that rather than spending money on kit, market research and analysis to find out what these requirements are and talking to customers on an ongoing basis is a more effective option. Through this process, Lateral realised that the demand for the printed product was still there, it was just that the market conditions were restricting the amount of print that could be commissioned. The solution to enabling growth, therefore, was to find new ways of meeting customer demand for less money. The starting point for that, Cromack says, is a strong strategic position from which to work.

"If your business has a strong platform and the fundamentals are right then you can ensure you have a strong business during tougher times," he explains. "Those fundamentals are essentially to make sure the business is as lean as possible and is running as efficiently as possible – this gives you the platform from which to grow in the good times and to remain solid in the harder times."

This base also gives you the stability from which to be lighter on your feet when dealing with customers – another key to growth. We now live in a bespoke world of personalisation, be it DM, on-demand television or a tailored webpage like Netvibes from which you can select and read all your favourite websites in one place. Customers now demand a product tailored closely to their needs and in order to grow print is having to react to that.

Flexible solutions
With this in mind, ProCo offers bespoke workflows and solutions to all its clients, while Pensord’s Coxon explains that finding unique combinations of stock weight, finishing, product size and mailing costs to meet customer needs is a key part of the company’s service.  While this flexibility will definitely help the retention of existing clients, and perhaps the expansion of the business you do with them, to really move beyond the current client base may require more dramatic, and therefore expensive, action.

This would mainly centre on new services that will more often than not require some accompanying new technology or skill sets – both of which represent a hefty financial investment. New kit does not come cheap, while experienced professionals can command a high price. Despite both these apparent negatives, many firms have still taken the plunge and enjoyed growth as a result. Lateral Group is one such company.

"We were in a very fortunate position because we saw very early that print was going to remain under pressure, so the next step was to see what value we could add around that scenario," explains Cromack. "The market was looking for accountability, a better understanding of results and ensuring that the budgets customers did have could go further. This meant some investment, but new technologies today suit the needs of businesses looking to get into new markets. The implementation times are very quick, and you can build up the technology gradually, so it grows with you."

An alternative option, according to Pureprint’s Owers, would be to seek out partners or mergers in the area in which you wish to move. He argues that by seeking out a partner, you can create a business opportunity with less of the risk of capital expenditure.

"It is likely that in the area you are moving into will be people looking to add what you are doing to their business, so partnerships and mergers are a route into new areas of the market. It is definitely the way to move forward," he says.
But you cannot truly alleviate risk in whichever path you choose for growth, be it with existing clients or new ones.

Balancing the need to spend to diversify with the risk of over investing is crucial if you are not to become overstretched. The key to that balance, according to ProCo’s Bailey, is keeping a tight rein on your spending, knowing everything that is going in the business – from the finance department, production, and sales – to make sure you have a tight team and that you know where the business is daily. Even then, there’s no guarantee of success.

"Investing in new technology always comes with a risk," says Bailey. "I’ve always said that while making the right investment is key, making the right investment at the right time is even more important. If you go too early you are ahead of the market and you can’t reap the rewards quick enough, if you go too late you will have missed the boat. It is a about good luck as much as good business practice, so everyone makes mistakes. What is important is that if you do make a mistake, you recognise that quickly and move on, don’t keep milking something that isn’t going to work".

For some, then, an idea like Pureprint’s The Glasshouse will work, for others it will not, but what is key if print businesses do wish to grow is that they should, if they have a sound business platform, look at their market and assess where they could possibly expand into or adapt – without any self-imposed limitations.

Simply treading water may prevent your business from drowning, but the risk is that you get irretrievably left behind as rivals diversify or adapt to increase business with existing customers and attract new ones.

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TOP TIPS SIX STEPS TO GROWTH
1 Ensure you have a strong business platform from which to build

2 Build good relationships with existing customers that incorporate a high degree of flexibility into the contracts

3 Research the market carefully to see where you can add value

4 Balance the need to invest with the need to keep a tight rein on the business finances – don’t invest too heavily too soon

5 Partnerships and merges can be a low-cost, highly successful route into new markets

6 If you do try something, and it is failing, don’t be afraid to cut your losses and try something new