Connections
Fight the Big Box Stores Part 2
Get Customized
Big box stores like Office Depot may be able to sell their color copies for a few cents less, but can their staff suggest new printing techniques? Can they offer advice on the best way to print or lay out that direct mail postcard? Can they bring design and printing experience to the table and directly apply it to the customer’s needs?
The answer is probably no. The printing clerk at Office Depot has about as much training as a cashier and their products are straight-forward and basic. So, as a smart print or sign shop owner you should be focusing on what you can do better… and that’s customized customer service.
Help Customers Get Customized
You could help a customer with a thousand plain copies or you could suggest products like postcard printing, which might be more effective and actually not that much more expensive once you get into the higher numbers.
The point is, you should constantly be trying to help your customer access products and services that only you can provide. It’s half upselling and half Read more
Fight the Big Box Stores Part 1
Focus on Business-to-Business Opportunities
You may not be able to beat the big box stores like Office Depot or Staples when it comes to advertising, promoting and marketing yourself to the mass public, but you can pin them to the mat on networking with other local businesses in your area.
Business to Business Will Save Your Business
By developing strong, personal relationships with other business owners in your area, you’re setting the foundation for future sales. For example, when my friend first started out in the print shop business, I told him to join his local business networking group and to do it quickly.
He attended meetings, he joined golf clubs and he even bought tickets to breakfast lectures and do you know what he got? Direct, face-to-face contact with all of his current best customers. The big box stores can’t compete with you on that, so you have to capitalize on it.
Make it Personal
A big-box printer may be able to charge a few cents less per copy, but they generally have an untrained kid behind the counter and Read more