Bill Farquharson, Print Tec December 1, 2003 -- Hello again, everyone, and welcome to the Fox Printing Network's “Who Wants to be Bob Takac's Competition?” For those of you joining us for the first time (or just switching over from the “Making of WhatTheyThink's Swimsuit Edition,”) let me explain the way our game is played…. Bob Takac works for Neilsen, a Moore company based somewhere in Ohio . All summer long, Bob and I toured North America as part of Xerox' fabulous Innnovate '03 seminar series along with Barb Pellow and Xerox' John Hamm. Our job was to introduce digital printing as a viable and profitable direction. Barb flew over at 10,000 feet, I talked about sales and marketing, and Bob was there as a successful user of digital printing. For just under an hour, he gave countless examples of live and current applications his company sells. Brazenly, he gave customer names openly, as if daring someone to contact the client directly and steal the work. We here at Fox Printing Network, the ones that gave you “When Pressmen Attack” and “CSRs Gone Wild,” took up the challenge and conceived of this now top-rated program. On today's show, Bob's clients are tempted by competitors, each offering a reason to switch. Contestant ready? Here we go: (Contestant #1 enters from stage left. Cue Announcer…) Announcer: “Our first contestant is a printing sales representative from Lou Ball Press, let's welcome Frank Toupee! Frank, what do you have to say to our buyer that might sway him to take his business from Bob Takac and give it to you? Frank: “Hey there! My printing presses do everything Bob's do. So what if I offered you 25% off of the price? <> Buyer: “The price sounds great, Frank, but can you also manage our data base like Bob does?” Frank: “Errr, database management? No, but our delivery is free!” Buyer: “So, Frank. I'm sticking with Bob Takac. Announcer: “Well, that was fast! Let's bring out our second contestant, Hyrum “Hi” Volume from Wicked Fast Digital Printing… Hi: “Mr. Buyer, I can do the database management AND crank your order out in 24 hours on one of new 1000 ppm digital printers. How does THAT work for you?” Buyer: “Well, speed is great and all, Hi, but can we communicate electronically with your plant? Can we check on the status of your order online? Can we send files to your secure FTP site for immediate production? Can we…” Hi: “AAAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!” Announcer: “Bob kills another one. I guess price and speed are not as important when it comes to competing with the well-entrenched digital print provider. We've saved the best for last. Contestant #3 is a clone of Bob Takac, able to do everything Bob can do: print, manage database, handle files electronically, everything. While he's clearly not the snappy dresser Bob is, let's see how he fares in a face off with Bob himself…” Evil Bob: “Mr. Buyer, anything Bob can print, I can print better. If he manages your database, I'll do it too. If you link with him electronically, I'm right there. Buy from me.” Good Bob: “Ah, but you are forgetting one thing…” Evil Bob: “WHAT???” Buyer: “That's right. The printing isn't enough. The database part is only a portion of the whole. And the ability to hook up through the Internet isn't difficult anymore. There is another thing you need to be able to do for me.” Evil Bob (sweating): “AND WHAT WOULD THAT BE?” Good Bob: “Ideas. I sell ideas to my customers. I offer the creative advantage of a person who partners with the client. I know about their markets and customers and targets and direction. I am brought in at the design stage of a project, not like you who shows up at the quote stage. We are there with ideas at the beginning and then stick around to measure our success. We're not so much printers as we are marketers. Can you do that?” Announcer: “Evil Bob, at this point your shoulders are slumping and you are looking a little defeated. It seems that no one wants to be Bob Takac's competition. And who can blame them? Bob has redefined the concept of ‘Customer Loyalty' to include the digital file. He is completely bulletproof in his accounts, leaving guys like Frank, Hi, and Evil Bob to fend for themselves with the bottom feeders. Well, that's all the time we have. Come on back next week for a new episode of “Who Wants to Be Bob Takac's Competition?”