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ROUNDTABLE INNOVATION
PM And then they take your spec down the road
and get it done for a few quid less.
AE People really do that?
MR I think the idea of a chargeable pilot is
something we need to look at. If the interest is
strong enough, then organisations, I believe,
may pay for the cost of the pilot to prove that
it’s worth rolling out. It could be as simple as a
test marketing piece.
Do you guys feel that you’re seen as experts
though?
MM Yes, we do. But I do agree with Fenton that
trying to get people to pay for it is difficult. Too
many people don’t value print. But what I’m
always thinking about is okay, we’ve done it
now for that client, but we can also make it
work for other people. And that’s where we’ve
got to look to get our money back, because
innovation does cost.
RC There is an argument that that’s where print
management is better at selling a solution
MM I would agree with that.
RC Because they’re generally a service-based
offering and haven’t got the manufacturing
side to worry about. So, I think how they
get value in is they go to do all the legwork
initially, but they’re also quite good at then
tying customers in.
FS Which is fair enough when they do, but if
they pass on the legwork to us and then take
the money and the glory…
AE But we’re the authors of own misfortune. If
we had adopted the lead supplier model, like
Paragon is now, all those years ago when print
management was just starting, it would be a
different story.
But the lead supplier model could still represent
a significant opportunity as the print
management sector is going through a massive
change now. Is that an opportunity to
innovate, in the business sense, sustainability
too, as Rob touched on earlier?
PH I think if we start at that point and we see
the environment as a business opportunity,
then we’re probably missing the point. It has to
be a bottom up, top down kind of message. It’s
about having a sustainable industry, which has
a great product to sell. It is about carbon reduction
not carbon neutrality and it’s not about
pledges, it is about how you do it, and genuinely
it has to be one of the driving forces of
how you get better as a business.
PJ I think one other way people have innovated
their business processes is by printing companies
embracing the power of the non-exec or
business consultant. We’ve seen some really
good examples of printing companies that
have taken an exec who came in and just
Printweek April & May 2020
revolutionised their business. Sometimes we
forget the basics because we’re too close.
Absolutely, but I suppose one of the challenges
there is the make-up of the industry,
typically smaller businesses – you’re not going
to get some big shot come in there as a nonexec?
PJ True, but having someone with a different
set of experiences, from a different organisation,
can be powerful – they don’t have to have
come from a FTSE 100 company.
Fair point.
RC One thing I do think we should be focused
on business-wise is actually making sure we’re
talking to the right customers. And focus on
doing the things we’re good at and not trying to
do things we’re not good at. It sounds obvious,
I know, but I think it’s something we have all
perhaps been guilty of at some point.
One thing I wanted to ask, does a tough economic
back drop drive or create opportunities
for innovation or stifle it?
PM Stifle it, I think, because budgets get
slashed. If people have less to spend, they cut
marketing budgets and then innovation is
harder to bring to someone if they’re worried
about their job. They’re going to be thinking: I
don’t want to do anything crazy. That’s always
been a general issue though. That said, sometimes
challenges force people to think differently
and do things differently. I personally
think on balance it stifles things to start with
RC Potentially, in tougher times we all have to
be sharper, more efficient and offer customers
something more to win their business. So, I
guess in that context challenges could actually
encourage innovation.
FS Adversity can create innovation by default.
One final question, what common traits do
innovative companies have?
FS It’s back to David’s original comment really,
they’re still in business.
MR Good companies, almost invariably, do
things differently, do new things. Companies
that don’t, don’t survive.
DM I think they are led by leadership teams who
love what they do. I think print is one of those
businesses – if you love it, then it will love you
back. If you don’t, it will bite you in the arse,
severely. So, you have to engage, you have to
want to spread the word about how wonderful
it is. You have to be a champion for it in front of
your customers. And then they have to believe,
because you’re selling something that you can’t
buy in the shops and you’re delivering something
that is unique to them. So, they’ve then
got to have the trust in you that you’re actually
going to come up with the goods, and it will do
what they think they bought.
PJ It may seem obvious, but just being risk
friendly.
MM I would agree with David wholeheartedly –
if you want to do it, you’ll do it. It’s just passion
and enthusiasm.
PM I think it is having a willingness to change.
A little bit like with the risk thing Peter is
saying. I agree with that. Just wanting to do
something different and try something different
and not being worried about it failing.
AE I’m back on the leadership thing, because it’s
the culture. If you have an innovative culture
and you love what you do and you get excited,
then everyone around you gets excited. And if
you can get a whole business excited about it,
then you’re going to be successful.
RC I’d say from a customer point of view that if
you’re innovative then you’re much more likely
to have a loyal customer base, because you’re
offering something different.
PH I think actually one of the common traits is
creativity. I have a problem with I’m not sure
what is innovation, what is creativity. So, I
think we’re all creative. I mean we’ve got to this
point somehow, where we’re running fantastic
businesses.
That’s great, thank you all.
If you have an
innovative culture
and you love what you do
and you get excited, then
everyone around you gets
excited. And if you can
get a whole business
excited about it, then
you’re going to be
successful” Alistair Ezzy Lettershop
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