The BPIF has asked those printers participating in the quarterly Printing Outlook survey the extent to which they receive orders via websites. The answers that came back were perhaps surprising. Just 11% take more than 50% of the sales through the internet. There’s no surprise there, and if anything may be a little on the high side if extrapolated across the industry. What is surprising is that 62%, that’s not far from two out of three printers, do not earn a penny via the world wide web.
This is certainly not indicative of the market as a whole where many smaller printers and others that are not natural BPIF members, are happily trading online. Indeed with the onward march of automation, an interactive website has to be an essential part of the journey for printers and for their customers. These customers are increasingly employing staff for whom online purchasing is more natural than picking up a telephone to do business. It is ridiculous to put obstacles in their way.
This suggests too that the BPIF is perhaps asking the wrong questions, or is asking the right questions but of the wrong audience. Instead of asking printers how much work they receive via the internet, perhaps the more interesting question is to ask how much print their customers place online. Because it is a fair bet that larger (and more lucrative) customers are already buying print online – just not from you. As many consumers have found over lockdown, buying online is simple and convenient and once tasted, there is no going back. And what holds for groceries from Tesco or Ocado, is true also for an increasing range of print. It is no longer just about business cards or A4 flyers. If the BPIF is not asking the right questions, printers need to be asking their customers how much print they are already buying online.
A case of asking the right questions
The BPIF has asked those printers participating in the quarterly Printing Outlook survey the extent to which they receive orders via websites. The answers that came back were perhaps surprising. Just 11% take more than 50% of the sales through the internet. There’s no surprise there, and if anything may be a little on the high side if extrapolated across the industry. What is surprising is that 62%, that’s not far from two out of three printers, do not earn a penny via the world wide web.
This is certainly not indicative of the market as a whole where many smaller printers and others that are not natural BPIF members, are happily trading online. Indeed with the onward march of automation, an interactive website has to be an essential part of the journey for printers and for their customers. These customers are increasingly employing staff for whom online purchasing is more natural than picking up a telephone to do business. It is ridiculous to put obstacles in their way.
This suggests too that the BPIF is perhaps asking the wrong questions, or is asking the right questions but of the wrong audience. Instead of asking printers how much work they receive via the internet, perhaps the more interesting question is to ask how much print their customers place online. Because it is a fair bet that larger (and more lucrative) customers are already buying print online – just not from you. As many consumers have found over lockdown, buying online is simple and convenient and once tasted, there is no going back. And what holds for groceries from Tesco or Ocado, is true also for an increasing range of print. It is no longer just about business cards or A4 flyers. If the BPIF is not asking the right questions, printers need to be asking their customers how much print they are already buying online.
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