Welcome to this webinar archive. The live event was held on October 10, 2007, but you may still access the content with the resources below.

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Questions and Answers - Below are questions and answers that were not included in the live session. Answers from Andy Paparozzi (AP) or Howie Fenton (HF)

Q: What are some good ways to define who can use your digital capabilities and how? Many companies want to work locally and will not explore new vendors or ways to do their work.

HF: In both our consulting experiences and our research at NAPL, we find that leaders build strategic plans based on customer needs and new market opportunities. We recommend ongoing surveys to monitor customer satisfaction, how well your value proposition is differentiating your company and to monitor your customers’ changing needs.

As you may know, NAPL acquired the eKG diagnostic tools in Feb 2006. The eKG diagnostic tools help assess customer relationships and determine strategic direction. eKG is a survey of customer satisfaction and needs. Customers are asked to score the service provider on 16 issues (service, price, knowledgeability, quality, etc.) and in three ways: customer satisfaction with the printer; customer satisfaction with the printer’s primary competitors; and in terms of the importance of each particular characteristic to the customer. It measures satisfaction, loyalty, and competitiveness, and allows the service provider to track its performance over time. Many of the leaders in our industry use eKG s to identify new ways to add value for clients, and strengthen competitive positioning.

Q: I found Marketing projects can take 30 times longer than a traditional print purchase with losses in time and resource investments. Probably why majority of advertising companies go out of business within 5 years. How does a company with longevity in branding based on quality printing now become an c-level marketing company without losing long term brand advantages and lose all revenue currently in the pipeline from print buyers who provide us easy printing dollars and how does one plan a funding of the transition?

HF: I am not sure we could answer this question quickly and easily. But you may consider working with a Strategic Planning coach. Joe Truncale the President and CEO of NAPL performs this service. I asked Joe about his process and here is what he communicated.

“There are six steps in the model I use. First is development or re-confirmation of the mission statement. This statement is important because it defines the organization by answering the fundamental question “what business are we in.” Next step is the SWOT analysis. Here, the group examines the organization in each of these key areas in order to gain perspective and set the stage for preparing strategic objectives. The final steps are to establish objectives, prioritize them, and develop strategies to address them. Objectives are defined as “what we want to do” and strategies are “how we’re going to go about it.” The tactics and budget can then be prepared as part of the budget process and will reflect the strategic direction that went into the development of the plan.” For more information contact Donna Komlo (Dkomlo@napl.org)

Q: Slide 23 states that this [variable data] is very competitive, one mistake and we lose money. We are under the impression and many other sources state that margins are higher.  Which is correct?

AP: Many other sources state that margins are higher ON AVERAGE. NAPL’s point is that averages say nothing about an individual company’s performance and prospects because there is so much variation around the average.

Averages are not ceilings—many companies will rise well above them —or floors—many will fall far below them. And they are NEVER A GUARANTEE THAT WHAT’S TRUE FOR THE MARKET/INDUSTRY ON AVERAGE WILL BE TRUE FOR ME. Even in markets that are indeed growing faster and more profitably ON AVERAGE than the industry at large, every participant must figure out what he/she has to do to share in the market’s potential.

HF: I think it is important to recognize that anytime a job has to be rerun, it generally results in loss for that job and can turn a proftable month into an unprofitable month. However, my clients tell me the same thing. They say that variable data printing and 1-1 marketing results in higher margins and/or greater profitability. But any mistakes typically take profitable work and make it unprofitable.

Q: Slide 25 showed more satisfaction than the earlier slide that had 51% as neutral, right?

HF: Wow good eye, but those two slides were slightly different! On slide 25, we found that 76.5% reported that “the net effect of digital printing on their business” was “positive”.

On slide 17, we quantified the answers to an open ended question about (all) digital services” and found 26% positive responses, 23% negative responses and 51% neutral or unsure responses.

Q: Do you see certain vertical markets growing more than others? Are the leaders targeting these industries more?

HF: This is a difficult question to answer because some companies are more successful in the same, specific vertical markets then others. For example, I see a number of companies focusing on popular vertical markets such as automotive, healthcare, education or the legal market. I find that one company is more successful than the rest. As a result, it is hard to say that one vertical market has more demand than the rest. And I believe that the more successful companies are those that are better at the critical success factors we identify in the report.

Q: I wasn’t clear about the NAPL membership category you mentioned that includes a digital capabilities or operations assessment. Could you explain that further?

HF: Yes, it’s our Partner tier membership, which costs $3000. Besides getting all the benefits of the Executive and Corporate tiers, you get one of four consulting projects. They include the Competitiveness eKG to discover what your customers think about you compared to the competition; a digital assessment; the Budgeted Hourly Rates or Cost Study; or Business Valuation. For more information about our membership options: http://www.napl.org/Membership/MemberTierDescptns.htm

Q: As you look at the individual companies that score as leaders from one year to the next, does that list change much?  i.e. does a company that implements a new set of services see a 20+% growth in sales over a couple of years and then settle to a new higher level and fall off the sales growth leader list?

AP: The list changes dramatically. THAT’S PRECISELY WHY NAPL DOES NOT DEFINE LEADERS BASED ON A COUPLE OF YEARS OF DATA. (Put another way, we do not draw a sample, lop off the top 20% and call them leaders. Too many in our industry are up one year and down the next to ever be meaningfully classified as “leaders.”)

Instead, we define Leaders as companies that are consistently successful—that excel over the long term no matter how their environment (clients, markets, competition, economy, etc.) changes. Our Leaders have been consistently successful and convince us that their success is by design and so is likely to continue.

How do we identify them? Again, that goes back to our research. We bring companies into our research program and study them over time. We ask questions that help us understand their performance over time? WHY are they succeeding? WHY are they struggling? Are they succeeding by design? If so, success will likely continue. Or are they succeeding by luck? If so, success will continue only until their environment changes.

Our Leaders know when their environment is changing—when new opportunities and new threats are arising. So they will take a short-term hit–they will make the necessary investments in equipment and personnel—to increase the probability of long-term success. When you look at their performance over a year or two, many would not be statistical leaders. But when you look at their performance over SEVEN YEARS or over 10 YEARS during which their environment has changed dramatically, they are at the very top of the industry.

Q: Is there a difference in how the leaders are handling the differences or integration between IT departments and PrePress departments than how the laggards are handling the situation?  Traditionally, IT dealt with networks, business equipment, and data.  Prepress handled files, color, and output.  Now in the digital world, the lines are grayed between the two.  The skill sets suited for the programming and data side don't necessarily lend themselves to the graphic side.  But you can't complete a project without the two departments working seamlessly together.

AP: Will investigate this in our next round of research—particularly in telephone interviews with leaders. Remember, we’ve only just begun.

If you have questions about this webinar, please contact Eric: eric@whattheythink.com

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions.  The Company is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is on the 2006 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands.”  Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent holder of technology, ranking third overall in the U.S. in 2006, with global revenues of $34.9 billion.  To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company’s RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com

About NAPL

Chartered in 1933, NAPL is a not-for-profit trade association representing companies in the $100+ billion graphic communications industry and dedicated to excellence in graphic communications management. NAPL's comprehensive slate of business-building solutions provides company leaders with the strategies, insights, and guidance they can use to make informed business decisions, minimize risk, anticipate change, and profitably grow their business. For more information on membership in the NAPL Network, which includes NAPL, the R&E Council of NAPL, and the National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP), visit www.napl.org or call (800) 642-6275, Option 5.

About WhatTheyThink.com

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