BAPC Leader Spring 2021

SPRING 2021 — BAPC LEADER 2 There is a well-known saying in reference to Darwin’s Origin of Species that characterises businesses that have met the challenges that 2020 has thrown at us and found a way to move forward: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. ” Looking to 2021, it is clean that market demand will remain unstable for at least Q1 and 2 and with the promise of a vaccine, or three, we will likely see the recovery begin in Q3 and some form of stabilisation take shape by Q4. So, this quote will remain more relevant than ever and it points to some real positives we can take away and build upon – especially within the print industry, which has continued to transform into an accessible market for all both in B2C and B2B derivatives. If we start by looking at the successful changes made in the way we have managed to get through pandemic driven lockdowns, one thing becomes clear, we have been serviced by our convenience. Indeed, the restrictions that have placed on our freedom of movement and congregation has resulted in a fundamental shift in consumption patterns with a big drive towards online buying from groceries through to personalised greetings cards. We can praise Amazon as being the leader in this, but other services have successfully followed on, and adapted to harness demand and significantly improve on the methods used to service it. Convenience is critical We can now order something, and it will be delivered where we need it, and indeed most of the time when we need it. We have to come back to Amazon as a market leader in this field and certainly a case study in successful adaptation. The process of ordering is so slick now that we only have to swipe a finger when we see what we want on our phone and it can arrive the same day or next day at our convenience. So how does this help the print industry? Well our industry has been yearning for change for many years now, lagging behind most other sectors in how they have transformed to embrace the internet. The generally agreed wisdom within the bubble of the print industry is that our products should not be seen as a commodity and that its very difficult to package many print products and sell them online. But the truth is, the consumer doesn’t care. If you can specify and order a car online and have it delivered to your door, then print is not a big challenge. Learn from the best You need a clean, easy to navigate interface or online storefront, that allows a user to find, edit and checkout with payment in as few clicks as possible, without over selling what they could have in addition to what they want. Demand patterns for print in 2021 will remain unstable. Kelvin Bell, Sales Director at Vpress argues that dealing with that challenge will place an emphasis on being nimble. Adaptability is king in 2021 People buying online just want what they want at their convenience, they are used it to now. They want to easily browse, pick something at a price they are willing to pay and forget about it until “it” arrives within a reasonable time. They are not concerned with what kit you have, how many hours you take to do the job, or if your van is a hybrid or fully electric – they want to order at their convenience. The important question to ask yourself is: Why shouldn’t they? If you cannot express your good intentions, environmental credentials and high levels of quality and service to them as they browse your goods online, then you are missing the opportunity, especially in a B2C context. Web-to-print is not the out of the box solution that many providers will let you believe, it needs to be understood in parallel of the understanding of your customers.