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To fully take advantage of the benefits of inkjet, it’s important to have a workflow that can operate across multiple types of incoming work, automating tasks along the way, and work agnostically in a mixed printing environment with equipment from multiple vendors or multiple printing technology (inkjet production, toner, offset, large format). One of the problems that hinders the ability to take advantage of the greater speeds and format sizes of inkjet presses is the reluctance of users to replace their proprietary workflows.  When digital printing technology first came to market, the software that created the workflow was specific or proprietary. It was proprietary for the printing device and may have used a specific printing language (datastream) and been proprietary for a specific print application (transactional).  A custom or specific workflow is uniquely targeted to specific composition applications, specific equipment, and specific products. A proprietary transactional …

We have an amazing thINK Ahead 2019 conference in store for you. With more than 75 presenters — 50 inkjet press customers and 25 industry analysts and experts — you can be assured learning and networking will be at an all-time high.  thINK Ahead 2019 takes place at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, Sept. 16-18, 2019. If you haven’t yet registered, it’s time! Check your inbox for your invitation — if you don’t see it, visit thinkforum.com/attend to request one. Have you been to a thINK conference before, or are you a first-timer? Either way, you are in store for learning and networking as the thINK board strives to make the conference fresh and exciting each year for all of those that attend. We want you to be inspired.   Here are just a few things to look forward to: Speakers: Ever notice other inkjet conferences have an equipment manufacturer talking in all of the sessions? Not thINK! While thINK has industry experts and Canon executives to round out your learning, the majority of our …

In this series on effective marketing for printing companies, we’ve covered many topics, including developing a company vision, finding likely customers, using effective content marketing, and leveraging marketing technology.  Now, let’s turn to the element that pulls all these and more into a successful whole: the people who make up your marketing operations (MO) team. Who are the folks who can manage or implement the key marketing elements to sustain and grow your business? While major corporations have immense marketing operations org charts, much of it could be boiled down to three essentials: 1) those people who create and test ideas and tactics; 2) those who can analyze key customer data to better inform marketing and customer acquisition efforts; and 3) those who handle the essential digital technology you need for effective demand generation.  Here’s how your MO org chart might be organized.   Compelling Ideas and Effective Tactics Marketing operations might be said to combine …

Bill has three daughters, Kate, Emma, and Madeline.  When Kate graduated from high school, she stepped into college in Boston. That expensive mistake was also Bill’s first experience with the college admissions process. Kate’s criteria for a school was fairly simple: Is the school far away from her parents? Her college of choice welcomed Kate with open arms, the check cleared, and her college career was off and running. Two years later, Emma started looking at schools. One of them was UVM, the University of Vermont. To Bill, it was a perfect match. Emma was interested in Psychology, playing softball, skiing, and theater. UVM has the top Psych department amongst all other public schools in New England, had just built an indoor softball facility, receives 200+ inches of snow a year, and boasts an amazing drama program.  In the end, Emma chose the University of Massachusetts, saving her father $20,000 a year. But if UVM was such a perfect fit, why didn’t she go there? Looking back, her …

The term, “Vertical Market” is used to define categories of prospects, such as banks, hospitals, colleges, restaurants, construction, and so on. The thinking is, if you can learn to sell to one, you can merrily crusade to another and find a similar situation, offer a similar solution, and make a second sale. Then another. And another. That’s how it works on paper, anyway. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to sell to verticals. Here it is in short: “It’s not about what they buy. It’s about why they buy it.” There. Does that make sense? No? Okay, then consider these two scenarios: Approach #1: You know that banks do posters. You look up the name of the buyer at a local bank using LinkedIn, connect, gain an appointment, have that appointment, offer to quote, quote, and then get the “Your price is too high” result you’ve been getting a lot of lately. Or... Approach #2: You drive by your bank. In the window is a big sign that reads, “Refinance your car loan with us at 3.99%” and …