Growing Your Business in a Difficult Economy

Whenever you consider expanding your business the first step is to realize what business you're really in. Take the printing industry for example. It's not about ink on paper. Understand the core value is graphic communications. This means we're looking for ways to extend value to the client base by aligning or offering whatever types of graphic communication the client may need. In the process of accomplishing this, it may necessary to go outside past traditional comfort and knowledge areas. In other words, past successful experience may be different than what's necessary to attain success in the future. After all, we recognize technology is changing how we do things, and this leads us to the logical conclusion we must also adapt to the changes in order to maintain our value to the client.

This perspective is very useful when we apply it to the three main ways we can grow our business. The first way is to add more clients. This is the most expensive and difficult option. Markets are contracting worldwide and new client growth requires significant effort, knowledge, cost, time, and expertise.

The second way is to increase the frequency our existing clients purchase from us. We can easily do this by conducting an audit of what each of our clients does and how they use graphic communications in the above example. Be very open minded here. Don't limit yourself to the obvious ink-on-paper uses. Think anything printed. Don't be concerned if these are capabilities not currently possessed.

The third way is to increase the size of the orders clients place. The easiest way of doing this is through the use of added complementary products and services. It's an easy sale, and will offer a savings in time, effort, and coordination if your clients purchase multiple items from you at the time they place their initial order. This is traditionally called a "cross sell" in the marketing world.


These three growth areas are multiplicative on each other. For instance, a 25% increase in each area does not yield a 75% overall growth rate. Rather 1.25 x 1.25 x 1.25 = 195%. A 25% growth rate in each area will almost double your turnover.

Systematically approaching the needs of your clients, combined with the multiplier effect of expanded capabilities, increased frequency of order, and the potential to gain new clients through expanded capabilities becomes the strategic basis for real growth. One of the easiest ways of accomplishing this objective is for the traditional paper printer is to embrace the broad substrate range which can be imaged with screen printing.

For decades screen printing has been considered the low resolution process used on t-shirts, decals, and posters. It was characterized as slow, short run, expensive, and relatively crude. That was the old stereotype. Things have changed.

It's been said that all things change with time. Here is a prefect example. New ink technologies and direct-to-screen imaging have dramatically lowered prepress costs and shortened lead times in the same way computer-to-plate has for the lithographic segment. When you add sophisticated UV curable inks and high resolution stencils, a new model begins to take shape.

Wide format ink jet has opened the door to full color medium and large format advertising in a way previously unapproachable in the past. While digital is still somewhat slow, screen has more than made up the gap. Medium and large format graphics screen printing has been one of the fastest industry net growth areas in recent years.

New software and print capabilities now make it possible to achieve this same high quality color output on apparel. While the unknowledgeable will downplay the significance of printed t-shirts, it is nevertheless an 18 Billion USD market. Certainly nothing to discount and it represents a significant collateral opportunity for anyone in the graphic communications industry.

The message overall is to find and partner with collateral, complementary producers. It's much less expensive than trying to invent this on your own. Everyone in every industry segment is looking to extend their markets. You have the reputation and trust of your client base. By offering them more graphic communication decorating options, you will continue to grow your business in an increasingly hostile, changing marketplace.