This month we talk to Kevin Lanuke, President & CEO of Blitzprint in Calgary. Kevin has offered variable data printing for nearly six years and was gracious enough to share with us his insights about getting into the business of relevance marketing.
GAM: You’ve been in this business for a while; what kind of advice can you give companies who are considering adding variable data printing and “relevance marketing” capabilities?
KL: I’ve been offering relevance marketing for about six years; building up the business, focusing resources, and educating my people and myself. The process is expensive, it puts stress on all resources: people, time, and money.
It’s not that vendors are telling tall tales or exaggerating the opportunities, but they might be viewing it with rose-colored glasses. Everyone is looking for something to bring to the table to make more money, however, you have to go into this with your eyes open.
There are many companies whose revenues range from $500,000 to $5,000,000 who are seriously considering the technology. Unfortunately many don’t really understand the soft costs of getting into this niche.
GAM: What would you say to someone who is really excited to get into personalized printing and relevance marketing? What things should one consider carefully?
KL: Number one—you have to have a strong balance sheet; your books have got to be in order. You can’t go into this business with old habits, old processes and procedures. If you want to self-fund entry into this new market, you shouldn’t go into it with a business that’s not generating much cash to begin with. It’s a real catch 22—looking to add new business to achieve sustainable profits, but needing cash to start the new business.
GAM: What changes have you had to make internally to get up and running?
KL: There are two important areas that must be addressed at the same time: knowledge development and cultural development.
First, success in variable data printing, database management, and mailing requires specialized knowledge and, for most printing companies, there are no or very few educational dollars in the budget. It’s scary; people who are planning to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on this technology have no money for educating their people.
Second, to move from a commercial printing, a commodity business, into variable data printing, a niche business, is a big cultural shift. Everyone in the company needs to understand that they need to think differently, sell differently, and engage each other differently. The old way of doing business doesn’t fit any more. Our company, our customers, our vendors, and all our partners need to understand what we’re all about.
GAM: Over the last 6 years, what did you learn in this niche as a relevance marketing company?
KL: Going to market was my biggest struggle. Getting to the right person who may be the print buyer or the top executive was never the problem; reaching the right people in the organization with a message that works well is the challenge.
We all hope for the “magical landing of the client.” Part of the story we’re told is that there is so much pent-up demand that we will have customers on our doorstep. Unfortunately, there’s not a single clearly defined project out there; there’s a vague understanding about what variable data printing/relevance marketing is, what you can do, and how you get from point A to point B. I found it tough to get customers to see the big difference between mail merge, versioning, and true relevance with VDI.
About a year ago, I thought about setting up a separate division and becoming a “marketing service provider.” Looking back, the decision to not set it up was the best decision for my company.
What I have discovered through all of this is how to be a better business owner. It helped me think about the sales process; I learned to measure my results better, I’m running my business better, my commercial business has become tighter.
My advice: get all the help you can to best see the 10,000-foot view. Ask yourself, does the new business work in my long term business plan? And if the solution doesn’t work for you, move on. Move on quickly rather than put too many resources into it.
I encourage digital companies to take a look at the market: it is really underserviced, and that’s the opportunity. But you must look closely at the soft costs before you jump in, do your homework and plan. Relevance marketing certainly does have value for our customers.
