Lexington, Kentucky, USA - May 14, 2001 - WhatTheyThink.com, the leading on-line community and research firm in the graphic arts industry, has just completed a survey with 158 print buyers. The survey focused on the number of sales calls and meetings print buyers had with print vendors. The questions asked: Estimate the number of new sales "telephone" calls you receive each month from print related vendors trying to gain business? Estimate the number of NEW print related vendors you actually meet with over a period of a year. Overall, 54 percent of these buyers said they receive 3 or more calls each month from print vendors seeking a relationship with their firm. 36 percent said they receive 2 calls or less each month and 9 percent said they received no calls from new print vendors. (1 percent had no opinion.) In the question related to actual new meetings, 17 percent said they have 5 or more meetings a year with new print vendors. 58 percent said they meet with less than 5 print vendors a year and 22 percent said they do not meet with new print vendors. (3 percent had no opinion.) Companies with less than $50,000 in print spending a year are less likely to be contacted. Only 41 percent said they received 3 or more calls a month. Conversely, 63 percent of buyers with print budgets well over $50,000 get 3 or more new calls a month. Very large buyers (describing their annual spending at over $1 million) are most likely to conduct new meetings with print buyers with 37 percent saying they meet with 5 or more new vendors a year. Commenting on the results, Randy Davidson, of WhatTheyThink.com, said there is more work to be done. “Each time we conduct a survey related to habits of print buyers, we uncover more questions to answer. These types of surveys are really best viewed through each individual organization. If you are a buyer, are you giving print vendors a fair look? If you are a print sales rep, are you making enough calls?” Davidson added, “Interestingly, most every print buyer spending over $1 million a year said they meet with new vendors. The numbers show this to be a more accepted practice for companies with larger budgets.”