The Magic Printing Machine

In reviewing my last post about Target Markets I was reminded of a story from about ten years ago, when I was a digital printing guru in the $92 billion commercial printing industry.

At that time I published a newsletter called Digital Printing Trends and wrote a monthly column called Digital Imaging Workshop for a 100,000-reader trade magazine.

As a digital printing technology big shot, I was often told about new technology being developed, and asked by manufacturers to render my opinion. One machine - which will remain nameless in this posting - was particularly interesting in that it could literally print anything.

It could print on a wide variety of substrates in black-and-white or full color. It could print a 3.5" x 2" business card or generate a mural (in sections called tiles) large enough to cover the side of a building. It could even cut vinyl or metal letters and shapes out of sheets to be applied to trucks or other types of outdoor signage.

It was truly a magical printing machine.

The problem? It could do anything.

Why is that a problem? Consider how a printing company might advertise the purchase of this machine to their customers and prospects:

"Guess what folks! We now have a machine that can print anything. So, if you've got anything, send it on down!"

Customer don't have "anything." They have specific needs that require specific solutions.

At that time - when digital printing was absolutely transforming the printing industry - I would often say that "The customers don't care if you've got a room in the back full of monks working with quill pens, as long as the job comes out on time, you stick to your price estimate and the quality of the finished job is within their range of expectations."

Digital printing, traditional printing, monks with quill pens: makes no difference to the customer because it doesn't impact their needs, their lives. They just want the job right, on-time and within budget so it can help them accomplish their internal objective - like selling more cars or adding more checking accounts - which has nothing whatsoever to do with printing.

My point relative to SendOutCards: businesspeople don't care what you do or how you do it. All they want to know is "What's in it for me?"

This is why focusing on specific vertical markets one at a time, creating valuable cards and campaigns which create a specific outcome for the members of that vertical, will yield more results than trying to present SendOutCards as the magic printing machine that can "do anything."

Until you can tie what SendOutCards is and what it does to a specific benefit for the prospect, you won't have business owners or marketing professionals tuned into station WIIFM.