Canon Europe’s latest Insight report, reveals that less than 20 percent of print service providers (PSPs) are seen as fulfilling customer needs and more than 80 percent of customers feel their partners need to provide more creative input.
The report, with the catchy title “Creating customer value” said the majority want their print partners to be more consultative and to be comfortable combining print with digital.
A lot of the frustration is not the fault of the partner, but largely down to the difficulties that customers have in measuring the effectiveness of their print spending. The request for more digital advice was driven by a desire to make it easier to discover just how effective a print campaign had been.
EMEA senior marketing manager for Canon Europe’s Professional Print Business Mathew Faulkner said that the research shows that while PSPs are getting the basics right, there is a gap between what customers want and what is being delivered.
“By using each customer interaction as a chance to demonstrate their expertise, PSPs can add value and help brands to maximise the effectiveness of print”, he added. “It is an opportunity to prove print’s ROI by showing them how it can be used to boost engagement or provoke an action at various stages along the customer journey.”
Canon thinks its report as a positive for print professionals who could offer a more consultative, creative and digital approach. But warns that there will be doom for those who don’t.
Customers need to review their print policies for the emerging hybrid working world, with the possibility of more flexibility for staff working remotely. Security is a problem for those sending print jobs over the internet.
“The impact of COVID meant that realigning strategic, operational and financial goals were centre stage for all organisations in 2020”, said Steve Holmes, EMEA regional director at PaperCut.
A fresh year presented an opportunity to assess the current set-up as well as make plans to accommodate changing work patterns, he said.
