Diversifying with Value-Added Services: Unlocking Hidden Profit Potential

A number of issues have fundamentally changed the demand for ink on paper, not the least of which is the range of new-media alternatives for communicating with customers. Selling print has become a strategic endeavor, and traditional print manufacturing is becoming the exception instead of the rule. Printers need to be willing to change their business models to embrace new ways of doing business. Not only surviving but actually thriving in this new environment is possible, but it requires the ability to do more than produce high-quality printed documents. You need to develop relationships with your customers that allow you to help them to do their business better. This is where "value-added services" come in -- adding value to the customer relationship. In today's market, printers must move their profitability beyond the press. This means offering value-added services. But what exactly are value-added services? Which services are the most profitable, and which ones make the most sense to offer? What capital investment is required? What is the value for customers, and how should you get started? And how do you sell nontraditional services to customers who are used to seeing you as "just a printer"? In Diversifying with Value-Added Services, Heidi Tolliver-Nigro demystifies the value-added services market by taking a critical look at the benefits, realities, investment, and sales approaches required for some of the most popular value-added services being offered today.