Making 2010 Business Resolutions Pay

When we look back at 2009, it will most likely be remembered as a challenging year for most businesses. The survivors however, cannot afford to spend too much time thinking about what was, and instead should be focusing on forming plans to move their business forward in the New Year and beyond.

As probably none of us is satisfied with the current state of business, some key questions to ask yourself to determine how to prepare for next year may include things like: How did you survive this latest downturn? Were you innovative in developing and executing new strategies? Were you able to use 2009 as a year to reposition your business for better times ahead? Were you able to effectively manage your personal time while maintaining your business, or were you overwhelmed by recent events? How you answer these questions may hold the key to how your business moves forward.

“After coming off a year like 2009, a good idea is to earnestly invest time into a blueprint for the times ahead,” said Paul Strebel, Cornell University business lecturer and consultant in Ithaca, N.Y. “This can be a good time to point out weaknesses and then look for meaningful ways to correct them—creating a more effective business and personal life for yourself in the process.”

“It would be the very rare printer who is satisfied with the status quo,” said Mike Banka of Maxim Color Technologies in New York City. Banka’s firm has assayed the landscape and his making adjustments to thrive in the years ahead. “Publishing has changed dramatically,” continued Banka. “Industry stalwarts like Gourmet magazine no longer exist. Many other magazines have moved online to survive. Print quantities are down and publishers are under increasing pressure from advertisers to deliver more.”

Banka noted advertisers are seeking new ways to more deeply engage readers and are turning to technology for answers. “Advertisers want to engage the reader,” said Banka. “It’s an interactive world. People expect messages to be animated and dynamic. This is the challenge we must aim to meet in the years ahead.”

While technology is pressuring many of us in a Darwinian-type survival-of-the-fittest business scenario, other, more traditional challenges also pose seemingly perennial obstacles to the printer trying to gain and retain a competitive edge. Differentiation and specialization are important areas to consider. Being a general type of print provider may no longer be enough in an area where clients often shop the Internet for the best deal, frequently before calling the print provider they’ve regularly dealt with over the years.

“In today’s commoditized marketplace, no matter what product or service you sell, there’s probably someone somewhere able to offer it cheaper, faster and maybe even better. So how do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?” asked Maribeth Kuzmeski, business consultant and author of The Connectors. “The only thing that truly sets you apart is the quality of your relationships with your clients and customers,” she emphasizes.

Henry Bramwell of Visionary Graphics in Patchogue, N.Y. agreed with Kuzmeski’s diagnosis, while advising printers to first look inward to correct areas that need improving before moving ahead. “I’m taking a hard look at my client list and preparing to drop my bottom ten percent of customers,” said Bramwell. While this may sound radical in a challenging time, Bramwell thinks such a move can pay strong dividends in the not-too-distant future. “When I review what took place in 2009 I can honestly say I was handicapped by the bottom 10 percent of my customer base that I estimate consumed about 30 percent of my time. And unfortunately, a lot of these customers are also slow payers on what’s already a very competitive rate.”