Comments on: Start marketing yourself – how about horizontal marketing?

By: Dev. Kinney

Dev. Kinney — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:50:05 +0000

Before getting into print creative and marketing with Holiday Inns, I was with an art studio that serviced several printers in Memphis. At that time there were many more small manufacturers nearby who did not require ad agencies for catalogs and mailers. Now printers struggle to find clients locally, nationally and even internationally. Financial responsibility is a huge component for establishing these relationships. Use Internet marketing to find and develop relationships where ever you can.

By: Steven Schnoll

Steven Schnoll — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:59 +0000

I just read an article in Baseline magazine that said” Enterprises that have achieved business technology convergence can respond nimbly to change and use their superior performance to leapfrog over less agile competitors and position themselves for future growth” What do you think?
visit http://www.printing.org/converge to learn about some of these exciting opportunities

By: Adam Edelman

Adam Edelman — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:33:52 +0000

Don’t forget SEM (search engine marketing)opportunities with horizontal marketing. If you’re giving away a free car with the new home, then the home builders should be buying adwords that reflect the free car portion of the deal, not just “New homes” adwords.

By: Kevin Trye

Kevin Trye — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:10:19 +0000

For innovative printers or mailing houses, the free bit could be some low cost online/mobile services. e.g. All direct mail campaigns come with free mobile txt keyword or QR barcode added into the promotion, even discounted email marketing or email list building option. These are all cheap and easy to do, however for Printers it relies heavily upon seeing the net/mobile as a friend or opportunity, not foe.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:26:29 +0000

The only horizontal marketing opportunity I see is throgh strategic partnerships. Things like partnering with agencies to provide creative for collateral, utilizing marketing firms to provide strategy for direct mail as well as executing cross channel campaigns, and maybe even working with ad specialty companies to open more doors. The truth is that quality service and product in print is expected and you simplty either provide it or you’ll never be used again. Now if the only product your providing is print, then your only differenatiator is price and there will always be someone cheaper.

In our industry and really any industry for that matter, strategic partnerships are the most cost effective way to differentiate yourself and allow you to have those upstream conversations where your services solve challenges and have perceived value.

By: Michael J

Michael J — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:30:37 +0000

Harvey,
On this one I have to disagree. The issue is not giving away something you didn’t make for free. it’s about leveraging the long tail of the relationship to bring your client something they might want.

Consider Starbucks. They sell a commodity with the added value of convenience. Meanwhile they offer their customers music, cups, coffee makers and now instant coffee. it’s the best kind of selling : find stuff that would be interesting to your customer, offer it to them at no cost to you.

It’s just Amazon’s affiliate marketing with a print shop, instead of a website.

Why wouldn’t a printer sell some selected books on Design if their customers were mostly designers and they had the space.

Or a printer could use the downtime on the press to publish a newsletter, send it to designers, then get Adobe or anyone else who wants to talk to designers to buy ads.

By: Pat

Pat — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:01:45 +0000

Well said Harvey! I couldn’t agree more! Let’s stop the free giveaways and get back to the basics of providing a quality service for a quality price with a differentiator that stands out! This is how Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest has worked since the beginning of time. This is how longevity in marketing will work until the end of time.

By: Kim.D

Kim.D — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:31:34 +0000

Horizontal marketing is a great way to gain attention, but I don’t know how effective or practical it would be for small printing companies. I think original ideas and smart use of marketing can have the same effect and be do-able for small companies.

By: Harvey

Harvey — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:48:41 +0000

This has been done many times with high income properties. There’s even a guy who gives away an assault rifle for every car. Question is does this make for good customer relations or is it glitz? All you’re doing is adding a premium to the cost of doing business, although it is an expensive premium. This is a blog for printers. To date, I have gotten mugs, dinners and all the other tshochkes they give away to get my business. In this industry, if they gave away a car, the print buyer would get fired for “Kickbacks”. There are more productive and cost efficient ways of generating new business than giving away something you don’t produce. It’s called innovation in marketing and it means that the customer will see a high response for their ROI when they use this particular marketing services provider. All else is fluff.

By: Jim M

Jim M — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:33:02 +0000

Maybe a deal with a commercial tax accountant. Get your business cards for free when you get your taxes done at ABC Accountants