We are all clients. We purchase raw materials and services from others in our efforts to produce what our clients wish to see at a price they are willing to pay. However, we are part of the printing world, and our clients are not. In fact, our industry seems underappreciated by the business community on the whole. What can we do to be as doted on as the advertising agencies that ask us to make their visions into reality?
The print industry was a true craft until the computer replaced all the heavy hand work with the punching of buttons. This technology shift was initiated in hopes of speeding up the process in order to keep up with the new technologies of radio and television. When the industry was no longer looked upon as a craft, or art, it lost its bargaining power. Print became a commodity product the second someone with no experience of the industry thought “anyone can do this”.
Before you read the remainder of this article I wish to emphasize that most clients don’t understand their printer of choice. There are some clients who are impeccable, understand the situation, and are exceedingly pleasant to deal with. I would not trade these clients for anything, however they are the minority. Most clients have very little understanding of the process, partly because there are many different ways to do the same thing. Most client don’t understand the difference between CMYK and RGB, and most of them don’t want to know.
I often ask why clients are not informed of the issues with their files and asked to correct them. Most of the time the response was that the client would opt to take their business to a place that could handle their files without complaints. If clients are paying for the file adjustments I have no quarrel with file tweaking, but I am worried about the precedent it sets for the print shop. There is a point where files will be unworkable, and someone from the shop must go and ask for better files.
Clients should also be better-informed about turnaround times. Often I see clients demanding jobs in unrealistic time frames. Printers find a way to get them done, and hopefully the client understands such speed is not normally achievable. But if clients are unaware, then there is no limit to their potential future demands.
Client education is actually surprisingly easy, but is blocked by unwillingness to spend time and therefore money upfront. Say it costs $300 to send a member of staff to the client’s for an afternoon. The client in turn needs 4 of its staff to listen, each running $200. Now look at the hourly rate of your prepress department—will $300 (your cost)up front save even more than that in prepress time? On the client’s side, how much will he save in (possibly hidden) tweaking costs if files come in properly?
Client loyalty has become almost non-existent in the past few years. I have heard of jobs being lost over as little as $10, and not small jobs either. In the fierce global marketplace where we are all competing, cost is king. Our clients too are feeling the pinch and looking for any way they can to save on expenses. This climate can help explain why there is a bidding war for almost every job, no matter how small. And in this climate, it is even more important to educate your clients so they can get the best value, even if it isn’t always the lowest cost.
How do clients continually dictate prices? Perhaps you do have customers who wouldn’t leave you over a few dollars—odds are they are the ones who better understand all the factors driving your prices, and the ones without unreasonable demands.
Next month: International price assassins.
Johnathon Anderson
johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com