A View to 2012
An Interview with Mark Potter, Publisher, Canvas
Recently we conducted a short survey asking printers for their thoughts on 2012…”tell us your New Year’s resolution,” we asked. The top answer was “expand my product or service offering beyond print.” So we took that question to Mark Potter, publisher of Canvas Magazine.
Mark, you are the definition of the word optimist. How is it you stay so upbeat in these difficult times?
Well, I am upbeat! For years, we’ve been so product based—and now, we’re all finally realizing a shift to market-based solutions. It’s exciting to see marketing take its rightful place. And for printers, there are now huge opportunities to leverage print, transforming themselves into so much more.
Let’s talk about the opportunities for printers today… what about the printer becoming a “marketing service provider”.
Let me put it this way. When a significantly large client demands digital printing, most printers will invest in digital printing equipment for fear of losing that client. That is a market-based approach to capital investment. It is not necessarily a great data sample of the market, but it is based on the idea that a client asked for something. So, it should follow that if you want to sell QR codes, campaign management and any other thing that resembles the nirvana of marketing services, then your clients should be asking for it. If they are not, then the problem may lie with the perception the market has of your organization overall.
How do we as printers get our customers to see us as other than “just” print?
We need to ask ourselves a critical question. Where should the conversation start? Should we walk into a client’s office and tell them about services that we now offer beyond print? Or, does the real conversation start when they view us as a resource to source these new ideas. My guess is that the latter is the best way to go. So, now the question is how do we generate those conversations?
Printing is already closely connected to marketing. Offering an integrated program to people who trust us is a natural. Don’t worry about the products. Just connect with the clients and let them help you define the scope of what you offer.
So–who will be successful in 2012?
2012 promises to be an interesting year in our history. We are a few years into the Great Reboot and it could not be more clear who the winners will be. The companies who believe in marketing and invest in their brands will be the cornerstones in the new day. The individuals who embrace transformation, embody humility and focus on “why” they sell rather than ‘what” they sell will be the leaders of a redefined industry. And don’t forget the handshake is (finally) coming back!
Mark is a voracious reader, and recommends several titles to our MakeReady audience:
“A whole new mind: Why right brainers will rule the future” by Daniel Pink
“The Long Tail: Why the future of business is selling less of more” by Chris Anderson
“Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us” by Daniel Pink
Mark Potter is a publisher, entrepreneur, dad, hockey dad, and hockey player. He created Canvas in June 2007. It is a vehicle that deals with the realities of today’s printing and communication industry, focusing on what is truly relevant to the world of the graphic arts professional. Canvas endeavors to help the transformation of print service providers to marketing service providers through exploration of intelligent sales techniques, marketing models, and best practices.
