A workshop about strategies for developing profitable digital printing businesses, even in the slow economy, drew a full house of nearly 80 print providers recently to Xerox Corporation’s Gil Hatch Center for Customer Innovation in Rochester, N.Y.
 
“Xerox is committed to giving our customers the tools and plans to help move business forward and emerge from the recession as market leaders,” said Gina Testa, vice president, Worldwide Graphic Communications, Xerox Corporation , in opening the “Business Development Workshop: Accelerate Your Business/Accelerate Your Profits.”
 
Xerox provided a program of interactive sessions led by industry experts, a binder full of business development tools for attendees, and the offer for follow-up Webinars to help them apply what they learned.
 
Sessions included presentations by Laureen Chudzinski, director, InfoTrends Business Development Strategy Service, titled “The Marketing Plan as a Key to Success,” and by Xerox and XMPie executives.  Topics included high-profit applications in direct marketing and using Web-to-print and variable information printing.  The workshop concluded with attendees drafting 30-, 60- and 90-day plans.
 
Brian Menold, operations manager for one of the top 10 performing Alphagraphics franchises, located in Cherry Hill, N.J., attended because despite having recently added a second sales representative, business has slowed this year.  “The workshop reinforced some things we know we should be doing and aren’t, and there were also some hidden gems that piqued my interest,” he said. Among them: the need to automate more fully, to have a more formal marketing plan and to make better use of the marketing tools Alphagraphics  sells, such as personalized communications, to market itself.
 
These lessons are already being applied, Menold added. “Our first marketing meeting after the workshop was the longest and most productive we’ve had.” He plans to keep the momentum going by participating in the follow-up Webinars.  “I think we owe it to ourselves to keep up with this. Our problem has never been discovering what needs to be done, but the implementation. In the business climate today, we know we have to be on top of our game if we want to help our clients move forward.”