Paul Reilly spends a lot of time thinking, speaking, and consulting about
what he calls “megatrends”: shifts in reality that have overturned many
long-standing assumptions about what it takes to survive and thrive as a
printing business. The chart on this page displays the matrix of talking points
that he uses to make these megatrends clear in presentations to clients and
industry groups.
In one way or another, they all relate to the need for competitive differentiation—the advantage enjoyed by printing companies whose customers have come to think of them as irreplaceable. Years ago, says Reilly, a printer might be able to claim an edge if “you had great people who knew how to make the dots dance.” Nowadays, when commonly used digital technologies let every printer be a Balanchine, customers are used to getting Swan Lake in every job no matter whom they are buying their printing from.
In one way or another, they all relate to the need for competitive differentiation—the advantage enjoyed by printing companies whose customers have come to think of them as irreplaceable. Years ago, says Reilly, a printer might be able to claim an edge if “you had great people who knew how to make the dots dance.” Nowadays, when commonly used digital technologies let every printer be a Balanchine, customers are used to getting Swan Lake in every job no matter whom they are buying their printing from.
